The Jewel of the Sands
by kellythegreat
Summary: Based on Ocarina of Time: Link refuses to return to his own time. A Gerudo girl from his past has reemerged...what does she have to do with the destiny of Hyrule? actually pretty good
1. See you Again

**The Jewel of The Sands**

The Gerudo Fortress towered above the red earth, the sand swirling about the stone walls in a fierce wind. There was a sandstorm coming soon, and the gate to the desert was being closed. A woman, clothed in an orange-brown dress, paced before an open door. The outfit stopped at her knees, where her muscular, sun-tanned legs ended in bare feet and bracelet garbed ankles. A tightened red strip around her waist glittered with the symbol of the Gerudo moon and star. Her blazing orange hair was held up in a high ponytail, the golden hoops glistening at her ears. Her experienced hands held a sharpened spear. The yellow of her eyes gazed out dangerously from above the purple shawl around her mouth. As her head turned fully away, a small, stooped shadow slipped inside.

Link sank down quickly behind a crate with the Kokiri Sword clutched in his hand against his chest. His breathing was fast and shallow, but from the Kokiri he had learned how to silence his breath when it became labored. A female guard was walking past, her eyes driving through the shadowed hallway like daggers. Navi fluttered anxiously by the boy's shoulder.

"This isn't a good idea, Link!" she whispered, her pink light flickering worriedly. Link, watching the Gerudo woman who was walking past the staircase, chanced a look at his fairy friend.

"This is where Ganondorf comes from, Navi," he whispered. "There could be something here."

"It's _much _too dangerous, Link!" continued Navi. Link frowned at the fairy's motherly reaction. "The women here are more skilled than you, they're criminals and they have no moral -"

"The Deku Tree said he was from the desert, Navi. I don't care how skilled they are," spoke Link in a slightly annoyed voice. Navi was silent for a moment. Link knew the mention of the Deku Tree stunned her a little; the wound of his death was still fresh in her. As much as Link disliked it when she became overly-motherly like this, he knew he shouldn't have said that. He bit his lip.

"Sorry, Navi..." he started, but the Gerudo guard had turned down another hallway after a moment of lingering in the shadows. Link saw his chance and sped up the stairs, only to find himself in another hallway, and a much longer one at that. He crept past, his back to the wall, getting near to a door that led into a separate chamber - and then he froze.

He heard a pair of voices at the other end of the hall. Two shadows appeared against the stone walls. Desperate with fresh fear, he grabbed the doorhandle, turned, and shut himself inside the room before the two women could catch a glimpse of him.

"Who are you?!"

Link spun, his sword clutched in his hand, his Deku Shield at the ready. The room was almost bare, with a straw matted floor and a single rack of spears lining the far wall. Navi hid quickly behind his shoulder. What he saw in the empty room startled him.

She was a Gerudo, that much he knew for sure. She had taken the low, crouching battle stance that the women of the Fortress often took, her legs spread with one hand pressed to the floor - but she was young, barely as old as himself, her young face drawn into an accusing gaze. The orange of her tunic faded beneath the brilliant light of a silver pendant she wore around her neck - the white moon of the Gerudo. Her fingers were tracing over the edge of a throwing dagger that Link knew might soon be directed at him. Her orange hair was long and strait, with a single lock of golden hair that fell over one of her emerald eyes. Link was entranced by her.

"I said, who are you,?" she spat again, her grip clenching on the dagger. Link felt navi tug his tunic and he shook from his thoughts.

"Look," he said slowly, trying not to sound suspicious, "I'm not here to -"

"Wait," said the girl quietly, cutting him off. She tensed a little in her stance. "...how did you get past the guards?...are you...a boy?"

This, to say the least, was not the question Link expected to hear. Navi stopped tugging him in surprise. Taken back for a moment, he relaxed slightly.

"Um...uh, yes..."

"And you...got past all the guards? The older women?"

"Yeah..." said Link, getting suspicious. But his misgiving turned to confusion when the girl smiled triumphantly and placed the dagger back in her belt.

"A true thief, then," she said. She grinned at the bemused look on his face ad fell into a more childish babble, suitable for their age. "You can relax, you know, I'm not going to attack you. My name's Aloarn. In the Gerudo tongue, it means 'Stored Wisdom' or something like that. What's your name?"

Link was still having a hard time understanding the girl's sudden friendliness, but she had put away her weapon, so he decided to make peace. He re-sheathed his blade and put away the shield as she waited for him to speak.

"Link. My name is Link."

"Link? Link." repeated the girl. Her face screwed into concentration. "Link...that would mean, I guess, roughly... 'The Defender'. What is that?" She was looking, clearly, at Navi, who had fluttered out from behind the Kokiri boy.

"Oh, this is Navi," said Link. "She's a fairy."

Navi's pink light fluttered in greeting, but Link could tell she did not trust the stranger. Aloarn, however, was gazing at the fairy in wonder.

"I heard stories about fairies. My mother tells a lot of stories. Yesterday she -"

But she stopped abruptly in mid-sentence, listening. Link, nearer to the door, could hear the footsteps of many Gerudo. Aloarn slid silently beside him and pressed her ear to the frame.

"It is Nabooru. She's coming to take me to training - you must get out. Go down the passageway and take a left at the second hall, then climb out the window at the end of the passage. There wall is covered in vines, climb down and you'll be out on the other side of the fortress. You're on your own from there."

Aloarn leapt up suddenly and unclasped the moon necklace from her throat. Before Link could stop her, she leaned in and put it around his neck.

"Here," she whispered. "For a fellow thief -"

She opened the door slightly and peered outside. Seeing the guards talking, she grabbed Link's arm. Link stumbled into the hall but slipped quickly behind a standing vase before anyone noticed. He glanced a last look at Aloarn and felt something pull inside him.

Reaching to his ear, he undid the earring he wore and tossed it to her. She caught it and looked strangely at him. He grinned.

"For a fellow thief," he said. She smiled.

"May we meet in coming years," she whispered.

Link sped down the passageway with Navi fluttering at his shoulder.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

After all the years of toil, the time travel, the quests, Link, bruised, cut, and burned, walked up slowly to Ganon's convulsing body. Dark blood was oozing from the monster's sides. Breathing heavily, the teenage hero stopped in the ruins of Hyrule castle and raised his glowing sword. Ganon's lolling, blood streaked head looked up at him. Link ground his teeth as his brow crease with fury.

"For Hyrule" he whispered.

Ganon screeched and spat out blood onto the ground.

The Master Sword fell and the scream halted.

It was over.

Zelda looked at the seventeen-year-old gently. Her eyes were clouded, filled with unspoken words. Link, his feet in the clouds, watched as she held the Ocarina of Time to her chest.

"...to where you are supposed to be...the way...you are supposed to be..."

He watched as the Hylain Princess raised the Ocarina to her lips. She took in a breathe.

Her eyes opened slightly as she felt Link's gloved hand descend on the instrument, pulling it from her lips. She gazed at him and he shook his head.

"No...I can't."

"But you must..." struggled Zelda. "After all this -"

"After all this," said Link slowly, putting his hand on her face, "I realize...I would rather keep fighting my whole life, than forget all this forever."

Zelda nodded slowly.

The Hero of Hyrule stepped back and disappeared into the clouds, making his way back to earth.

_Two years later..._

A pair of gloved, leather-wrapped hands pulled lightly on the mare's reins. A cloaked figure astride the horse lifted his head slightly and gazed around at the bustling, sunset-lit village of Kakariko. The town had grown since he had last been here. Merchants, vendors, and market dealers covered the sides of newly-paved streets, calling out to crowds of possible customers. Flowergirls danced down the lanes with baskets of roses and tulips, the fragrance mixing nicely with the fresh bread of pastry carts. Aged women in shawls hung their knitted quilts on the edges of their stands, while potters set out their best displays for the evening crowd. Children chased fleeing chickens through the legs of stern faced tax men. Carpenters carried beams of wood and slabs of stone up the side of the windmill's hill, busy on building the addition beside it. Beggars, roamers, and travelers in heavy cloaks led the lead-ropes of mules and pack-horses. The cloaked stranger nudged his mare lightly in the side. She trotted forward, dodging past a stubborn cow, and made her way to one of the town's tallest buildings. The last red rays of sun glittered off her crimson-brown coat as she tossed her white mane. Link's blond bangs fell across his handsome face from beneath his hood.

The sign above the door dangled in the dying light.

_Dragon Fire Inn._

Link dismounted and tied Epona to a nearby post. A groom from the back would soon be around to take her to the Inn's stable. He smiled faintly as he stroked the mare's white mane. The horse looked at him with dark eyes and whinnied.

"We'll stay here tonight, girl. You'll be fine."

Epona shook her head, but complied, standing obediently by her post. Link unstrapped a few of his bags from her back - a shifted beneath the cloak, the Master Sword and Hyalin Shield strapped to him underneath. He pulled his hood on further with his leather-gloved hands and stepped into the Inn.

The heavy smell of alcohol and tobacco smoke spilled through the doorway. It was nearing winter, and the roaring fire that blazed in the grate of the barroom was inviting to all kinds of travelers. Townsmen sat in respected corners with flagons of ale fizzing before them. Carpenters were drowning shots as they grumbled about low pay and hard work; hookers in fishnets, thigh-length skirts and corsets sat on the edges of card tables, inviting customers for thirty Rupees each. Cloaked men like Link were smoking in corners, watching silently as rival townsfolk quarreled about livestock. A pudgy woman in red served a table from a drink-laden platter, ignoring the cat-calling that followed her as she left.

Link took an overview of the room and pushed up to the bar, where a red-faced ma in an apron was sliding a shot down to a thin, shifty eyed man in a dark blue tunic. When he saw the new customer, his face lighted into a smile.

"Welcome to Dragon Fire Inn, sir," he said. "Name's Jobins. How may I help ya?"

"I need a room for the night, and I've got a horse out front," said Link, pulling off his hood. The bartender's smile faded a little as his eyes roamed over the golden hair that fell from his head.

Link tried not to meet the man's gaze. The Hero of Hyrule had not been forgotten in Kakriko, nor in any other part of the realm for that matter; Link had been dodging screaming peasants, fainting women and snobby nobles for the past two years. He was eighteen now, but the teenage appeal of him still lingered, and he had to be careful wherever he went. he prayed silently to Frarore that Jobins wouldn't recognize him - and thankfully, he didn't.

"Well, we've got a nice room on the second floor that's open. Don't mind if the window doesn't close all the way, will ya?"

"I'll be fine. How much?"

"Fifty fer a night."

Link took out a satchel of fifty rupees and dropped it onto the counter with a satisfying thud. The man nodded and grabbed a candle, picking up one of Link's bags, and headed up the stairs.

Link sat in his room beside the open window. Cold air was seeping in, but he didn't notice.

He leaned over his map of Hyrule and crossed off a section of Kakariko. He leaned back in his chair and ran his fingers through his hair in exhaustion. He had been patrolling Hyrule undercover for the last year, but he still didn't know quite why. He felt uneasy, he thought. Everything seemed differently lately...ever since -

A vision of Zelda flashed through his mind. He swallowed and gazed, unfocused, out the window.

_Don't take it out, _he told himself. But against his will he reached into his pocket and withdrew the letter, the one piece of tattered paper that Zelda had sent to him less than a year after the defeat with Ganon. He already knew it by heart, but he couldn't stop his eyes from looking over it again.

_Dear Link,_

_I've been missing you very much. Ter'zai is a much different realm than Hyrule. They do not believe in the Three Goddesses, and I am trying to voice the Hyalin religion to them. Prince Rothak seems to be the only one who is listening._

_Link, I must tell you something. Prince Rothak has asked me to marry him. He is a wonderful man, and many are saying that we would be a good match. but if i married him, than I would have to leave Hyrule and become Princess, (and one day Queen) od Ter'zai. I do not want to leave Hyrule, but it is such a good match, and he is a very good man. My cousin Alea has been ruling in my absence, and she is doing quite well. I believe that if i were to marry Rothak, I would leave the kingdom in her hands. I have no yet decided, but I already believe that i am outgrowing Hyrule. It is a small kingdom compared to that of Ter'zai, and Alea can easily watch over it._

_In response to your last letter, no. I do not think that I, leaving Hyrule, will affect the Seal or my Triforce piece. You worry overly so about such things, Link. We have defeated Ganon and there is no hope in his returning._

_In ending, I miss you, and shall write back as soon as I decide on Rothak. Best of wishes!_

_Princes Zelda_

Link crushed the paper in his fist and threw it across the room.

He had loved her so much. He had hinted it in his letters to her while she dwelled in Ter'zai, flirting with that conceited Prince Rothak. He grabbed a dagger angrily from his belt and slammed it down on the table.

How could she do this? He lost his composure and collapsed into the chair, sliding his fingers over the edge of the dagger. He had loved her so much. He looked at the crumpled ball of paper on the other side of the room, the letter...and then thought of the other letter, the one that had come after it, the one that he had dropped in the river moments after reading it...

The one that tol d him she was to marry Prince Rothak, that theier wedding (which he wasn't invited too) would be glorious, how he had already built her a house on the far islands of the Petheas Kingdom. How she loved her dear, wonderful, puffed-up, vain, ignorant Prince so much...

Link ran his hand through his hair, pulled on his cloak, and walked quickly from the room. The bright lights and noises of the barroom greeted him as he descended the stairs.


	2. Bloody Beginning

Link leaned onto the shaky table and brought the glass to his lips. He took a swallow of the beer - which was fairly good, compared to one's he had tried in the past - and watched the fire as it crackled in the grate.

Beside him, three men sat, playing cards. One was tall and slender, like a snake; he had a full, handsome head of raven hair that did not match the drawn look in his face. His faded brown eyes were slightly bloodshot, his tunic tattered, his mug overflowing with his fifth beer. The man across from him was the complete opposite, short and sturdy, with bright blue eyes and matted, tangled hair that fell across his forehead in brown streaks. His belt was too small and his ego too big, judging by the way he confronted the man on his left.

This one was huge, his shoulders spread far and swelled, his shirt tight enough to show his over-flexed muscles. You could see each vein in his pale neck, and his huge fingers clutched the cards in his hands greedily. His filthy beard was unkept and his empty, dark eyes leered at the other men.

"Where's ole Rurish, Leun?" asked the sinewy man as he put two cards down on the table.

"Ole Rurish, aye?" said the gigantic Leun loudly, leaning over the table. Judging by the number of empty glasses before him, he was fairly drunk. "Ole Rurish cheated at poker, the damn bastard, I had to run 'im through fer it -"

"You wha'?" said the shorter man. "You dono how to run it through a man, idiot. Now I, I can take out two at a time with one punch, not countin' what I can do with a blade -"

"Liar," snarled Leun, his face reddening with pride. "You don't know how to lift a sword, you two-foot, cut-throat liar. I'm the only one outta either a you that knows how you really use a sword -"

"Yeah right, Leun, you couldn't kill a man with a blade if he was standin' still -"

"Could too, damn you. I know all the moves, trained with the best, can do the whole lot - switch-crossing, triple block, round swirlin' -"

Link snorted into his drink, stifling a laugh. Whatever Leun thought switch-crossing or round swirling was, he had never heard of it. He man looked around drunkenly, searching for the source of the noise. He caught Link as he whipped the beer from his lips.

"You laughin' at me, boy?" he hissed. Link continued to drink his first beer. The man stood slowly, his shoulders shaking.

"I said, _you laughin' at me, boy_?" he said, his voice dripping with increasing fury as he looked at the hero from across the table. Even from a distance, Link could smell the alcoholic stench that hung around him. The man was drunk and angry. Leun's fists clenched dangerously.

"_You gonna answer me, boy_?"

Link drowned the last of his beer and placed the empty glass on the table. He stared straight into the man's red-tinged eyes.

"No," he said.

The man shook for a moment. With a furious roar, he reached underneath the table and threw it.

Link jumped back as the bench he was sitting on overturned. Several women screamed as glass mugs and empty bottles shattered against the floor. Cards and poker chips flew across the room, soaked in beer and whiskey. The man, still shaking, pulled out a rusted sword. The leather wrapped around the hilt was peeling off, and the metal was dull from neglect. Link tensed. He had left his sword upstairs.

"What's wrong, boy?" yelled Leun wildly, his eyes unfocused as he swayed on unsteady feet. "Ain't got a blade? Well I always liked a fair fight. Give 'em you're sword, Takr!" he shouted sharply to the small, blue-cloaked man at the bar. The little man passed fearfully under the shadow of the furious Leun and handed Link a blunt, unpolished blade.

Link tested it, felt the weight of it in his hand, sized up his opponent. But the man was mad with the drink, unbalanced on his feet and over-confident. He smiled savagely.

"Yeah, there was a price on your head, I remember it," he whispered. Then he roared again and threw his sword headlong at the Hero.

Link ducked and rolled over to the side as the blade slammed into the wall behind him. The side of the Inn trembled from the force of it and Leun, enraged at the miss, charged forward through the crowd, shoving townsfolk aside as he went. Link caught the eye of the bartender and he beckoned frantically towards the door. Link got the message and began to back out onto the porch as the man grabbed the hilt of his blade.

He tore it fiercely from the wall, ripping through the wood as splinters flew about him. He followed Link out the door, his jaw slacked drunkenly as he stepped into the dark. Men and women crowded into the doorway, watching beneath the dim candlelight.

"Trying to run, are ya?" called Leun, heedless of who heard. Link backed further into the shadows "Better learn not to mess with me -"

He stopped as Link appeared before him, cold and calm, the sword drawn. The two blades clashed, but the man was too drunk to recover as quickly as Link. The Hero rolled beneath the man's flailing sword and slipped the edge of his own across Leun's leg. As the man cried out, Link flipped the sword over and thrust it up across the edge of his palm, sending the sword flying. He lunged towards the falling sword, but slipped his ankle under the other man's as he went; Leun fell flat onto his back and felt the cold metal of his own blade touch his throat.

"Better learn how to hold your drink," snarled Link. He dropped the sword onto the drunk's body and began to walk back to the Inn. People were staring from the doorways and windows, but they could not see past the light of the porch. Link reached back to put up his hood.

There was a sudden, sharp pain on the back of his hand. He winced suddenly and pulled down his cloak sleeve.

The Triforce of Courage burned deeply into his skin.

"Hurts, don' it, boy?" yelled the man suddenly. Link turned to him, bewildered, but froze at the sight. Link had done no more to the man than leave a scratch on his leg, and perhaps, a few bruises on his back. But Leun was propped up on his knees, blood running down from the corners of his mouth, his eyes white and rolled to the back of his head. The insane smile on his bloody lips was terrifying.

"He told me this would happen, boy," he said. He started to laugh, high-pitched and wild, coughing up dark blood. "He's back, back...told me I would pay a price, didn't he? Ha ha..."

His laughter echoed madly through the streets, his eyes empty and unseeing. Link watched him carefully, motionless, as his hand throbbed from pain.

"It's in the desert, boy," he said. His hacking , choking cough became unbearable. Link could see his midriff convulsing terribly and knew something was wrong inside. Gagging, his head tipped to the side and he glared at Link with one crazed eye. Blood dripped from the corner of his mouth. "You bett'a be quick, boy...they've been waiting for the King to come back...ha back..."

"What are you talking about?" shouted Link, leaping forward and pulling the man up by his collar. His body was limp and cold. Link shook him desperately.

"What are you -"

Link let go of the man and leapt back as he vomited blood. His sadistic smile froze, and he slowly collapsed forward onto the ground. Link stepped towards him, praying that he wasn't dead - but as he reached the carcass, he saw, with his own eyes, something that made the Hyalin crypts seem friendly.

His clothes deteriorated and all his hair fell out, including his beard. Blood seeped from his mouth, his eyes, his ears, his nose, and Link stumbled back his flesh rotted away, leaving a terrible smell in th air. The pile of dirty bones that remained lay ominously in a patch of brown grass. The empty-eyed skull stared tauntingly up at Link.

Link stared back, ignoring the pain on his hand, his whole body frozen. Both swords dropped from his hands.

Beneath his shirt, the cold metal of the silver moon dangled against his chest.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Link strapped the last saddlebag to Epona as the darkness deepened around them. He had refused to speak to anyone at the Inn, even when they found the ple of bones that lay ten feet away from the inn's door. The bartender assured everyone that the bones did not belong to Leun, and that Leun had simply given up and stumbled home - but from the looks Link got as he took his bags down from his room, he knew none of them believed this.

The mare looked at him despairingly as he strapped on the last satchel, her dark eyes sagging with exhaustion. Link felt guilt rise inside him.

"Sorry girl, but we've got to go. Back to the Gerudo."

A pouch behind the saddle suddenly wiggled violently, startling the mare. As she shifted her weight to her back hooves, Link stroked her mane comfortingly and used his free hand to undo the clasp.

Navi, bristling and furious, in her fluttering pink light, burst out of the bag.

"_FIVE MINUTES!_" she yelled at the top of her fairy voice, "You'll be in there for _FIVE MINUTES! _ Have you ever been cooped up inside a dark pouch for almost three hours? I wouldn't be surprised if I lost some of my shine..."

Link laughed nervously at the fairy's reaction. It took him a moment to realize that someone else was also laughing.

He spun, the Master Sword clenched in his hand. But the intruder spread his palms out towards the blond. It was the innkeeper.

"Sorry, lad, didn't mean to startle you..." he tried. Link's wrapped fingers tightened on the hilt.

"I'm leaving, I left you twenty extra on the counter. What do you want?" The innkeeper lowered his hands.

"Look, I ain't gonna tell no one. I knew who ya was the moment I saw ya, lad. The fairy proves it. I just want to warn you - them Gerudo aren't so nice." Link tensed.

"I have dealt with the Gerudo before," he whispered. The innkeeper waved his hands, showing his unwillingness to offend Hyrule's hero.

"I ain't sayin' you haven't, cause I know you have. But they're different lately, I tried to deliver some horses to them the other day and - well, just tellin' you to be careful, lad. Hyrule can't risk losing a hero." Link relaxed slowly and re-sheathed his sword. For a moment, he stood and studied the man.

"Thank you," he said. The innkeeper nodded as Link mounted his horse, Navi fluttering into his pocket. Without even a kick or a sound, Epona rode off in a full gallop away from Kakariko. The small pink fairy peeked out from his pocket, bemused.

"What happened at the Inn, Link? Why are we going to the Gerudo?"

Link shifted his grip on the reins so that his sleeve was covering the Triforce piece.

"Nothing, Navi...nothing."

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Link traveled for the better part of the night. Epona spurred on at full gallop without any indication from the teenage hero, the plains of Hyrule flying beneath her breezing hooves, the gentle stars of Nayru glittering above. The red hills of the desert passage rose high in the west.

Link slowed Epona as they neared the passage. The Gerudo were forever watchful over the pass, though it was still a slight gallop to get to the bridge. The bandit women had the uncanny skill to disappear in any environment, and the towering red cliffs that lined the passage were there strong point. Link did not want to risk the journey in the dark. Even after earning their wavering trust, he knew that outsiders were never welcome.

He dismounted Epona and Navi flew from his pocket.

"Link?" she asked quietly. Link had not spoken to Navi since she had asked him about the Inn, even though she had questioned him slightly towards the end of the night's ride. Link undid Epona's saddle and let her roam towards the grass on the plains. Navi fluttered anxiously.

"Link, what happened at the Inn? Come ON, Link -"

"It's nothing, Navi -"

"Oh, do NOT give me that, you," she said hotly, "I am your guardian spirit, I at least deserve to know why we're going into the Fortress again -"

"It's nothing for you to worry about -"

"Oh, come on!" she shouted, nipping him on the head.

"Hey!" said link, putting his hand to the wound. Navi gasped suddenly as his sleeve slid down to his wrist.

"Link! Your _Triforce Piece_! Why is it glowing?"

Link lowered his hand quickly, but knew he couldn't get out of it. Besides, hadn't she been there through it all? Hadn't she helped him through darkness and dungeons and temples? Hadn't she helped him defeat demons and monsters? Hadn't she, of all the people he'd met, been the one who stuck by? Sure, she was his fairy...but she was his friend too. So as he rolled out his bed mat and unstrapped his sword, he told her what had happened.

"Link..." whispered Navi as he finished the story. Link could hear the faint note of fear in her voice . "Do you know what this means? Ganon...he's back -"

"No. It doesn't mean that," said Link firmly. Navi fluttered about, her pink light flickering nervously.

"But Link, he said the King was coming back, and the desert, and the Gerudo - Link, we need to tell someone, this could be very dangerous, we should go see Alea, or - or -" Link heard her hesitate. "...we should write to Zelda, Link -"

"No," said Link instantly. Navi heard the tone of defense in his voice as he struggled not to lose it. "She's got other things to worry about. She's the Princess of Ter'zai now. I need some sleep. Goodnight, Navi."

Link rolled over and faced the red wall. Navi lingered a moment, worried about her friend, but soon drifted off to go find Epona. Link waited until he was sure she was gone before rolling over onto his back. Exhausted, he ran his fingers through his hair, struggling to get Zelda from his mind. The side of his hand brushed the edge of the silver chain around his throat.

Slowly, carefully, he took the pendant from beneath his shirt. It glittered faintly in the starlight, twirling slightly as he held it above him.

For what seemed the millionth time, he struggled to remember where he had gotten it.

That was the downside about time travel, he thought. If it was done too often, it muddled your memory. He slid his thumb over the cool, polished surface and watched it glitter slightly in the dark. Something calming came from the presence of this pendant, something he couldn't quite describe in words. But he shook off his feeling as he saw Navi returning in the distance and rolled over, pretending to be asleep.

From an outcrop high above the Hylain hero, a yellow-eyed gerudo woman sped down the path towards the Fortress.


	3. Betrayal

This one's a tad short, but the next one will be better.

BY THE WAY vvvv

To everyone who reviews this, I need ideas for another fic...feedback if you wanna.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Link came into consciousness with a sudden jerk. His eyes snapped open and he leapt up, his head swimming.

The woman's grip on his arm was torn loose. He ducked as another woman tried to grab his neck and rammed into her with his free shoulder. As she lost her balance he managed to catch his arm on her waist and tear her blade loose from the side of her belt. Her pant leg ripped open and he spun, clashing blades with the next Gerudo to confront him. The woman lost her hold on the hilt; he whirled, blocking another woman's attack, but felt a sharp, stabbing pain on the back of his leg.

His head was swimming, the world swirling around him in a red-brown mess. He stumbled and saw a Gerudo charge at him, her spear glinting in the red sunrise. He tried to move, but he was loosing his footing, his head aching. The point tore through his side and his teeth clenched, downing the yell that threatened to escape. The woman charged him again and link, desperate and blinded by pain, spun and across her with the blade still in his hand. The edge slit across the woman's throat and she went suddenly limp.

Tension sparked at the murder. Link knew he was as good as dead, so he spun madly, seeking one last foe. As he turned, he felt a cold Gerudo blade touch his throat.

"You'll pay for that, rat," hissed the woman before him.

Link glared at her, but she did not strike. Her glaring yellow eyes bore into his azure ones. She was wearing a purple dress, not an orange one; the female was a Senior, a Hka'tie in the Gerudo tongue. Her position was one of authority within the culture of their race. She alone bore the tattoo of a star on the side of her experienced face. The symbol was given only to those of undying loyalty. She smiled slightly, knowing she had the young man's life on a string. It was a smile that sent Link's insides blazing with fury.

"Drop it."

Link ground his teeth. Her hand clenched on the hilt and she pressed the blade harder against his throat. He let the sword fall from his hand. The Hkta'tie watched him for a moment longer and then let her sinister grin show through.

"Tie him up," she said carelessly. The blade left his neck and Link, enraged at the Gerudo's betrayal, leapt towards her. It was half a second before the blow came.

Someone kneed him in the stomach and he doubled over. Another blow came to his side and he fell, yelling, as his bleeding wound burst with fresh pain. The Gerudo were merciless, and they laughed as they beat Link into the dust. It did not seem to matter what they used to beat him, whether it was their fists, feet or spears; in fact, one or two Gerudo tore sadistically into the hero with the points of their deadly weapons. It did not matter where they hit. His head was knocked around, his legs torn up, his chest and arms beaten. Blood ran down from cuts on his face and purple-red bruises formed around his stomach. At least fifteen Gerudo joined the scene, and Link could do nothing of it.

When the beating finally came to an end, he remained still. His body was racked with pain and anger. As they started to tie him up, he lashed out at one and left her a broken jaw; the result was just what he expected. As they laid their spears on him, he watched the blood drip down over his eyelids. Not once did he cry out.

They tied his wrists roughly behind his back, using cord instead of rope so it cut deeper into his flesh, and picked him up. The Gerudo Hka'tie watched him, smiling her evil grin, as Link glared up at her through clenched teeth.

He was dragged to the Fortress, his knees torn open and bleeding as they scraped over the rocky ground. As they passed over the bridge he caught sight of the woman he had slain. Two Gerudo dragged her to the side and threw her body into the raging waters below. Silently, Link prayed to the Goddesses to bless the body of the woman.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

He was dragged into the main chamber of the Fortress, still held with his arms behind his back, and forced down onto his knees. From beneath lowered eyelids, he could see the edge of a long, wooden table; red-haired senior Gerudo filed along the side of it in their respectable chairs, watching in cold silence. Giant purple banners, bearing the moon and star, hung from the walls. The only light came from a spot on the roof, and the glimpse of morning light make him think suddenly of Navi.

Where was she? Had they captured Epona? No, Epona was too fast for their horses...but the mare would not leave his side, and Navi would never abandon him...

"_Ramil!_"

The voice was loud and angry. Link, his eyes on the floor, listened carefully.

"Why have you disturbed the Calling? Who do you bring within our walls? Speak clearly, speak truly!"

"I speak clearly, I speak truly," muttered the Hka'tie. Link could catch the note of annoyance in her voice. "An intruder was found on the path by Magathi. He slew Ofil as he awoke from a slumber. The punishment for murder is high. But the law states, we must bring it to _you_, the _Advisor_."

Link hesitated. Something was wrong. The Hka'tie was speaking as though she rather disliked the Advisor, which was understandable - but her tone was bitter and sarcastic, not angry.

"Watch your tongue, Ramil. I could just as easily cut it out as watch it speak. What of you, stranger? Look at me!"

A woman kicked the hero in the stomach and Link, blazing with fury, sought the Advisor's eyes in which to take out his fearsome gaze. But he stopped.

Her eyes were outlined and bright, wholesome green. She was barely as old as himself, perhaps seventeen, her body curved and well-set for her age. There was a gold chain around her hips and her waist was exposed beneath a brown, strapless midriff shirt. Her flaring white pants stopped at her knees, and there were gold bangles at her ankles. Her hair was a stunning crimson-red, but beside her beautiful face, a single lock of blond hair hung.

From her ear, a small golden hoop glittered.

Something tugged faintly in the back of Link's mind. The Fortress....a fellow thief...

The Gerudo guard holding began to lose patience.

"Speak, dog!" she yelled in his ear. Link did not look at her, but kept his bewildered gaze on the Advisor. A thief...spears...Stored Wisdom...the guard lost it.

"Show respect, bastard!" she screamed, and kicked him in the chest.

Link doubled over in pain and fury. From beneath his shirt, the blood-soaked silver moon fell out, glittering in the light.

The Gerudo Advisor froze. Her eyes watched the swirling pendant, transfixed. Trembling, she fell to her knees before him and crawled close to his face. Her hand trembled as she reached out, one finger touching the cold, red-stained surface. Her eyes lifted and their faces, barely inches apart, stared at each other.

"Where did you get this?" she whispered. A drop of blood ran down the length of Link's face.

"A fellow thief," he managed.

Then the pain consumed him and his world went dark.


	4. Written in Red Earth

Sorry it took so long guys!!! My computer doesn't exactly like me...

THANKS FOR THE REVIEWS!!!

Everything was hazy. Link's head ached. He could see an outline of a woman...she pressed something to his skin. The deep gash in his side flared suddenly.

He grabbed her wrist, pulled her across the cot he lay on, and slammed her against the wall. But the female was not afraid; she stared down Link with a cold patience that rivaled the desperate fury in his azure eyes. As the adrenaline rush faded from him, her face came into focus.

"It's nice to see you too, Link," she whispered quietly.

His grip on her wrist softened and he gazed at her, unfocused. The emerald of her eyes was captivating...distracting. His mind clicked on suddenly.

"Aloarn," he said softly. The girl grinned and pulled away from him, returning to the low-backed chair that stood beside his bed. Link tried to follow, but his body stung as he attempted to rise. Looking down over his chest, he cringed inwardly. Bruises discolored the flesh across his stomach, while the deep gash in his side was only half-wrapped and still pulsing as Aloarn tried to clean it. Cuts, left by the Gerudo's deadly spears, were throbbing beneath red-stained bandages. He clenched his teeth at the pain but made sure Aloarn couldn't see.

She took a strip of bandage and tied it around the wound until it was no longer visible. Her blond bangs fell halfway over her face and Link, catching himself staring, broke his gaze suddenly as her eyes met his.

"Can you stand?" she said quietly. Link didn't reply, but stood determinedly off the side of the bed. The room was restricted and small, and he was getting a feeling of claustrophobia being held within the stone walls.

But he was unbalanced from being beaten across his scalp, and swayed, catching himself on Aloarn's chair as she reached out to support him. He ran a hand over the back of his head, where several bumps had formed beneath his golden hair. Aloarn saw it and winced.

"I'm sorry - they don't know better -"

"YOU!"

Link's head snapped up at the familiar, high-pitched, assertive voice. He smiled wearily as Navi, her light flickering in fury and concern, floated before him.

"I WAS SO WORRIED ABOUT YOU! NOW DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHY I CAN'T TURN MY BACK ON YOU FOR THREE SECONDS? DON'T YOU EVER KEEP ANYTHING FROM ME AGAIN, YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW I WORRIED OVER YOU AND WHAT THEY COULD DO TO YOU -"

"Heh...sorry Navi..." muttered Link. Navi, her light still bristling slightly, sighed.

"Well....as long as you're ok...just...DON'T EVER FALL ASLEEP WHEN I'M NOT THERE AGAIN!" she said. Link blushed at the over-protectiveness of such a tiny creature. Aloarn laughed a little and he turned at the sound of her voice.

"You have some good friends, Link of Hyrule," she said. Link struggled to grin, but the light in her emerald eyes distracted him. She broke her gaze with something that may have been a blush, but he could not tell under her tan skin.

"Let's go for a walk. I'm sure there's a lot both of us should tell each other."

* * *

Aloarn stared hazily into the hallway before her.

"You sealed Ganondorf away..." she whispered. Link, slightly bewildered by the faint tone in her voice, fixed her with a worried look and stepped closer.

"Are you alright, Aloarn?" said Navi. The fairy, though usually only worried over Link, had taken a liking to the Gerudo girl after she had heard of the teenager's rescue. Aloarn shook her head suddenly.

"Oh, sorry..." she started. She smiled up at the blond hero. "Thank you for defeating him...even though I'm sure you've heard that a lot..."

"It's ok...I just thank Frarore that the Gerudo themselves hated him...if they didn't I would be fighting an army..." Aloarn's smile faded.

"You would be surprised at the faithfulness of a Gerudo soldier," she whispered. At Link's questioning glance and Navi's worried light, Aloarn took a step down the nearest set of stairs.

"I must show you something, Link."

Link was recovering from his injuries, but the intensity of the beating still weighed in on his strong body. As he descended the endless spiral stairs that Aloarn led him down, he felt his strength beginning to go; Navi encouraged him, telling him she could sense the honesty in Aloarn, and convinced him to keep moving.

It was only when they neared the bottom steps that Link paused, feeling a rush of chilled air drift up from the depths below the Fortress. The walls were damp and cold, but the ground itself was covered in a dry layer of cool red sand. Torches flickered off the cave walls; Link could catch the forms of angry faces, painted into the stone sides. Aloarn turned at the end of the stairs and looked up at him, her eyes clouded with a strange mist..

"Link...I must ask you something." she whispered.

"What is it, Aloarn?" Link said warily. The torchlight flickered off her beautiful face and Link felt his heart stop. He gave a mental shrug and refused to acknowledge it.

"The Gerudo are the Children of Din, Goddess of Power," she whispered. Her eyes left his, unfocused. "The Women of the West. The Thieves of Me'lkmar. In our blood runs strength. Loyalty. Honor. The secrets of the Gerudo are deep Link, old as the Desert itself." She looked up at him, her eyes shining with a crimson tinge from the torch's light. The red fires of Din on the plains of Frarore.

"You have vanquished evils from our Fortress. You have sealed away all that would have doomed us. The Secrets are before you Link. The Code of the Gerudo."

She turned slightly, welcoming him into the caves. Navi fluttered anxiously. Link watched her, motionless.

"What Secrets are these?" he whispered. Aloarn bowed her head slightly, her eyes still upon him. A blond bang fell over her left eye. Crimson locks brushed her bare shoulders. The small gold hoop in her ear glittered.

"_Ucm esia el ao Kagari r'iu, Gerudo m'ishk o hte,_" she whispered. She stepped back half-way into the cave as Link walked forth beside her, Navi at his shoulder. He turned, and his gaze met the past; faces stared at him from carven walls, statues of beasts towered above the dark sand, rolls of ancient law piled high against the stone. Link turned to her, unable to understand her words. She bent down and picked up a handful of the red sand, sifting it through her fingers.

"Th Secrets of the Gerudo are written in the red earth," she said softly.

Standing, she walked full length into the cave. Under her breathe, she muttered a prayer to Din. Then in one smooth motion she tossed the sand into the air.

Link watched, silently, as the pictures began to move.

At the bottom steps, yellow eyes glared through the torchlight and turned, darting back up the stairs into the heat of the furious desert.

* * *

The sun was setting. Deep, red, deadly. It glinted off the metal fastenings of a hundred saddles, off the shining mouth pieces of stallions and the silver clips of the mare's girths. Gerudo filled the area, silent in the dying sun of the desert. Their fierce eyes glared out sinister and gold from beneath the contrast of their auburn hair. Women unfolded purple scarves and wrapped them delicately across the bridge of their nose. Others pulled up their hair and wrapped gold string around it, pinning it up away from their neck. Red paint was smeared across tanned cheeks, the custom of the Gerudos before battle. Curved blades were being whetted with pieces of stray rock; the points of spears were being secured. The crimson sky flickered in the menacing eyes of Ramil.

The women looked up from their tasks as she strode forward on her golden bay, fully clad in armor with a heavy spear set in her hand. Over her right eye, the star of the Gerudo was painted in scarlet.

"Gerudo of the West! Thieves of Me'lkmar!" she cried, her white fangs of teeth flaring in the sun.

"The traitor, the child, Nabooru's faithful wench! She has given the scripts to a stranger, stolen the code of the Gerudo, destroyed the ancient law!" Women screamed agreement into the air, clashing blades with a sickening ring. Ramil's eyes flickered.

"The Gerudo alone hold the desert Secrets, the Gerudo alone can raise the sand of Din to life! No man, peasant, thief or hero, canbear the Scripts! The Code is life, the Code is death, the Code is the way the Gerudo! Who but the Women of the West could carry it?"

Spears clashed against shields. Swords gleamed in the dying sun. Savage yells split the air like knives. Ramil licked her teeth and fixed them all with her piercing gaze.

"The return of the King is near. We must crush those who oppose him. We must kill those who seek his demise. We must destroy the traitor of Aloarn. She has brought a foe within our walls, sisters. The very one, the very one to seal away our promised King. The very one!"

Angry cries filled the air. Women tore at their sunset-dyed flesh.

"We ride to the castle, sisters. But first, there is a score to settle. The Code is sacred, and none but the Gerudo bear it. The man dies. But Aloarn is mine. I will call her Advisor no longer. The blood of the traitor will quench the red ground tonight."

The women roared and leapt on their horses. The stallions reared, their white eyes wide and crazed, as the flats of curved blades slashed their flanks. The unbearable thunder of three hundred horses hooves echoed through the cliffs. Ramil, securing the veil around her mouth, drew her spear with a hidden smile and spurred the mare forward.


	5. Escape

Link could feel the sand against his skin, across his cheeks, tangled in his hair. But no matter how it swirled, it always avoided the vulnerability of his azure eyes. Aloarn stood across the room from him, her tanned cheek bones splashed with dry earth, her stomach imprinted with lines of red sand. The dust was beginning to settle, slowly.

"Honor," whispered Link. A draft of wind ran softly through the cave, and a few pieces of Script flittered in answer. Aloarn's eyes never left him; she was waiting for something, something in his face, his eyes. Her blond bangs drifted slowly across sandy cheeks. Link gazed at the walls around him.

"Strength...cunning...loyalty... " his eyes roamed free through the sand. Navi, for the first time, hovered almost motionless in the dusty air.

"Me'lkmar ," whispered the Hylain.

"The First King," answered Aloarn. Her voice was hushed and slow. "_M'ahkt ie me'lkmar. _Sorcerer."

"Thieves of Me'lkmar, the shadow of the Desert," repeated Link. Aloarn stepped closer to the Hylain Hero. Link saw her and paused, ever captivated by the haunting gleam in her eyes.

"The Gerudo are cursed, Link," she whispered. Her face was inches from his, her gaze piercing, his breathe caught in his throat. "It is why we steal...why we kill...why we hunt. Because of Me'lkmar. The First King. The Sorcerer, shadow of the Desert. We are strong, Link," her hand touched the cold metal chain around his neck. The golden hoop glittered faintly at her ear. "We are swift, cunning, loyal. The Children of Din."

Her hand slipped down and ran over the cool surface of the silver moon. Link's eyes wavered.

"Me'lkmar betrayed you," he whispered. "One King...for one hundred years. He killed the rest. Disgrace."

"Dishonor."

Aloarn slid away from him, leaving him breathless beside Navi, the sand still drifting about him. The glow in the cavern began to dim.

"It is why you sealed Ganondorf away," she said. A blond bang drifted across her face. "To save Hyrule. To protect the People. To give us honor. To break the Gerudo curse."

The sand was settling now, hovering to waist level. The Scripts fluttered and lay still. Navi flickered as if she had been sleeping. Link, his mind numb, his body moving of its own accord, stepped towards the Gerudo girl.

Aloarn dare not move, but fixed her iron gaze on the Hylain Hero. She restrained a sudden need to shudder as he bent his face close to hers, his eyes locked on emerald plains.

"But it hasn't broken."

Through the cavern walls, the echo of a hundred voices sounded from outside.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

Aloarn leapt out of the Fortress' main gate only to have a rain of arrows descend upon her. Desperately, she drew one Gerudo blade and slashed the nearest arrow from the air. Link, sliding down into the sand, grabbed her by the waist and held his gleaming Hylain shield above them. There was a loud, halted grating noise as the daggered arrows ricocheted off the metal.

Aloarn pushed away from Link in a blind rage. In a flash both of her Gerudo blades were out, gleaming from curved, whetted edges even in the early darkness of evening. She paused, seeing the vastness of the army before her.

Every woman in the Fortress assembled there, staring her down with empty yellow eyes behind a mask of purple veil. Horses whinnied loud and pawed the ground impatiently, their bloodshot eyes gazing longingly into the red canyon pass. Hundreds of swords glared through the dark, menacing and cold in the face of the Gerudo Advisor. Bows were notched and bent with poisoned arrows; spears carved with stars and moons were held high into the air and shaken as a woman on a golden bay galloped to the front of the crowd.

As Aloarn's eyes fell on the woman Link, standing beside her, saw her tremble in fury and lunge, headlong, at the army's front. He grabbed her by the waist and hauled her back, cutting fresh arrows from the air as they landed precisely where she had been standing.

"Ramil!" she screamed, breaking away from Link's grip, her fury consuming her, blinding her from the odds around her. The Hka'tie smiled evilly behind her veil as the Advisor shook before her. She was enraged, maddened, unable to speak. In her right hand, Ramil clenched a whip.

"The Code of the Gerudo is sacred, wench," hissed the older woman. "You have betrayed us. You are banished. Leave now or die in pieces."

"You will have a treacherous King for the Gerudos, Ramil? You will have a demon as you're Captain?" shouted Aloarn, her will striving against Ramil's, the fire in her eyes inextinguishable. "He will starve you, he will betray you, he will _destroy you -_"

"Traitor!"screamed Ramil. The whip descended on Aloarn and she stumbled, dropping one of her blades, her arm torn open and bleeding. Link caught her as she fell and supported her, placing the shield between them and the Gerudo army. He bent down close to her ear.

"Keep her talking," he whispered. Aloarn, still furious, sought him with an angry, bewildered gaze. But at the look in his eyes her temper was subdued; she pushed past him and strode towards Ramil again, picking up the fallen sword as she went. Link silently took out Saria's Ocarina.

"Traitor," she whispered. Blood was running down the length of her arm. Her body was covered in red dust. "Nabooru was the traitor, wasn't she Ramil? Traitor because she would not slay the innocent, would not destroy the ancient Temple, would not _sleep with the King of the Gerudo -_"

"Silence!" roared Ramil, her eyes ablaze, as she lashed out the whip towards the girl's throat.

But Aloarn's fury had overcome her. As Link finished the last note to Epona's song she leapt, cutting the whip in half in midair, and barreled into Ramil. The woman was too keen and well-balanced to be thrown off her horse, and rebounded against the Advisor with a swift hit in the stomach. Aloarn tumbled onto the ground but regained her footing like a wildcat; a woman beside the Hka'tie threw her spear down at the teenage girl and her blade sliced it in half as smooth as butter. She grabbed the sharpened end and rammed it through the chest of the nearest Gerudo, swinging upon her horse and hitting another woman across the head with the but of the spear. Ramil's blade was out, flashing beneath gold eyes, as she sliced it expertly beneath the girl's arm. Aloarn cried out, her side blazing. She turned but an arrow, loosed with deadly aim, sank into her shoulder. She lost her composure and shook horribly as Ramil lashed out at her with a heavy kick. She hit the ground hard, her world swirling, the wind knocked out of dust-filled lungs. There were too many to fight, too many to run from; the women howled like rabid wolves and galloped forth to finish her.

Two stallions reared and screeched as an arrow tore through their powerful necks. The woman astride the nearest one screeched, her foot caught on the stirrup, and fell as the weight of the animal crushed her into the sand.

Link slipped his arm around Aloarn as she gasped for breathe, her hands still clenched weakly on the hilts of her blades. Epona whinnied loudly, fast as lighting across the earth, merely feet from them. Link pulled the arrow from the girl's shoulder and shook as he saw the black liquid sliding down the shaft. Poison.

A spear grazed his back and he grit his teeth, desperately scrabbling at Epona's saddle. The woman were trying to surround him, enclose him in a furious ring of death, their scarves dangling from their mouths to shows their barred, white fangs.

It was Navi, herself, that fought back as Link struggled onto the mare. She was furious and sped right into the midst of the circle, swirled, and let out a glorious burst of light.

The Gerudo shielded their eyes as Link settled into the saddle with a weakening Aloarn in front of him. He did not need to spur the mare or give any verbal signal; the horse knew her master too well for that. She turned and was away, faster than an arrow, flying across the red sand of the desert, tearing through the canyon pass, the echoes of a hundred other horses haunting her steps. But no horse on earth, stallion or mare, could outrun the wind that Epona was made from. Nayru herself smiled upon the animal, giving flight to her feet as she scattered the sands beneath her in a furious gallop. The thunder of hooves faded behind them as they struck out into the soft grass of Hyrule Fields. The stars above them were bright and cold as the heat of the day faded from the air, and the moon hovered above the horizon, round and full. The silver glow of it glinted faintly off the chain on Link's neck as he pressed a strip of bandage to Aloarn's shoulder.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv

"Link, my boy! What a surprise! I didn't expect -"

Talon stopped as he caught sight of Aloarn. Link had already dismounted, and Epona stood stock still as he slid the unconscious Gerudo from the saddle. Navi fluttered above him, challenging the light from Talon's oil lamp.

"Talon, quick, she's poisoned -"

"Silence, boy! There is no time for words!" hissed Talon sharply. "Ingo! Get out here now! Malon, get the medicine book and find the antidote to _Ga'miki, _Gerudo posion -" Aloarn slipped from the mare's back and Link, his arms holding her up by the waist, saw her eyes flutter open faintly. His heart beat wildly, knowing she was still alive. Bending close to her ear, he picked her up effortlessly in his arms.

"It's ok, Aloarn. Hold onto me. You're going to be fine..." he whispered.

Aloarn tensed, her pride flaring, and tried to get him to put her down. But his grip was firm.

"You're sick..." said Link quietly. His voice shook faintly. "Please, Aloarn..."

Aloarn caught the tremble in his voice and gazed at him, unfocused. Then she slid his arms around his neck and went still.

"Ingo, water! Get her in the house, boy, hurry! Up to Malon's room, she already mixing the herbs...water, Ingo! Hot water!"

Link carried her as fast as he could manage into the stable house, her crimson hair splayed over the front of his chest, her breathing faint and shallow. He swallowed and prayed desperately to Frarore, to Din, to Nayru, to _anyone _who was listening. _Please don't let her die._

Malon ushered him into the room and Link, gently, laid the Gerudo down on the farm girl's bed. The fellow redhead took a bowl of water and a cloth from the dresser and tried to dab the girl's forehead. Aloarn leapt up, grabbed Malon's wrist, and pressed a hidden dagger to her throat.

"_Mauh....l'ie rohae..._" she muttered, her grip slipping on the blade. Link sat quickly on the bed and wrapped his arms around her as she lost her strength. The blade fell to the floor with a clatter and Aloarn went unconscious.

"Let me tend her, Link," said Malon swiftly. She was used to danger by now and the girl's reaction had hardly unnerved her. "Just lay her down. I need to get her to drink the medicine before the stages begin -"

"Malon!" cried a hoarse voice suddenly as Ingo entered the room. "Where is he? There are more, outside, warriors with spears -"

"What?" shouted Link. The two still did not get along well; Ingo held an eternal grudge against the Hero of Time, and Link had always disliked the sour farmhand. But at the man's words Link, who had been busy laying Aloarn against the sheets, leapt up.

"Where?" he said swiftly. Ingo looked out the door, one hand clenching a jar of hot water.

"At the gate, talon does not know what to do -"

He stopped as a shrill ring filled the room. Link pushed past the man, the Master Sword glaring nobly in the candlelight. There was a soft slam as the Hero of Time shut the front door and ran swiftly towards the ranch gate.

"We have no business with you, rancher -"

"This is not you're home, leave before I set the dogs on you -"

"Try your dogs, we will trample them. We seek the Advisor -"

"The Advisor will not see you," snarled Link, stepping before Talon. The rancher glared at the women before him, all shadows in the dark; all except for their fierce, yellow eyes.

"It is the Hero," said the lead Gerudo. "Weapons down!" she yelled.

"Swords were re-sheathed and bows put away. Spears were lowered. Link tensed, but realized that the vice of the woman was not Ramil's.

She leapt off the horse, swept near to the hero and bowed low on one knee.

"I beseech you, Hero of Time," she whispered. "I come with help. I come seeking the aid of the Gerudo Advisor, whom has not lost all her respect. I come with the last of the faithful Gerudo."

Link did not let down his guard, did not put his blade away. He stepped forth and touched the metal to her throat.

"Prove that I can trust you," he said. The woman looked up at him with bright eyes. Slowly, she undid the scarf around her mouth and smiled up at him.

"Nabooru, Second Star of the Gerudo, at your service, Link."


	6. Swirls of Sand and Blood

The door burst open. Nabooru, her scarlet ponytail falling over one tanned shoulder, her yellow eyes wide and anxious, glided through the doorway with a fellow Gerudo behind her. Malon, who had been applying paste to the Advisor's wound, jumped and nearly dropped the medicine.

Nabooru saw the feeble antidote and grimaced.

"Fool!" she hissed, knocking the bowl from the maiden's shaking hands, "This is no use here! _Ga'miki _runs deeper than herbs can cure. Step away and watch the Gerudo healing. Ba'kti, _m'hu esia tai._"

Aloarn stirred in her dreams and reached to her side, searching for the hilt of her blade. Malon had thought of this and had taken the deadly weapons from her; as Link entered the room behind the Gerudo, Aloarn twisted around in the midst of a fever. Link saw it a second before it happened.

She sprung up out of bed as he leapt past Nabooru and grabbed her. She fought against him, briefly, and then began to shake as the adrenaline rush faded. Slowly, he whispered against her ear.

"You're going to be fine, Aloarn. Just hold still...please... Nabooru's here, she's going to help you..."

Her eyes fluttered and closed as she rested her head lightly on his shoulder. Link swallowed as he felt the bandaged cut in her side with one hand. Ba'kti, the woman who had walked in with Nabooru, looked startled.

Nabooru was completely ignoring the scene. She had taken a pouch from her belt, a pouch filled with red sand and a single, white leaf. She crushed it together in her hands, muttering prayers to Din, and smeared it over Aloarn's shoulder. Aloarn relaxed slowly in Link's arms and the Hylain's heart beat wildly, his breath sticking in his throat. His mind screamed at him. _What's wrong with me?_

But before he could answer himself, Nabooru slid the girl out of his arms. The Advisor was coming back into consciousness and sat before the Second Star, her eyes still closed. With the excess mixture Nabooru smeared the symbol of a star on the girl's forehead.

"Awaken, child," whispered the older woman. "Din has healed you with the red sand of the desert."

Then Nabooru gestured frantically at Link and the Hero heeded her, holding on to th Gerudo girl so that she would not fall or slide to the floor. From within his arms, Aloarn's emerald eyes opened.

"Welcome back, Nabooru," she whispered. She felt Link's arms and paused, thinking.

And then she gazed straight up at him and smiled.

* * *

It was near two in the morning. A blazing bonfire was roaring in the midst of the horse's pasture, a guiding light within the darkness of Hyrule's deep night. Gerudo women were giving their prayers to Din, dancing around the red fires, or sitting in the shadows and talking in hushed voices.

Link was not among them. The celebration belonged solely to the Gerudo, and neither Talon, Ingo, or Malon knew quiet why they danced and prayed; but Link knew. Red earth. Strength. Loyalty.

Honor.

He was sitting on the roof of the stable house, watching the scene below with mild interest. Nabooru was sitting near Ba'kti, and they were speaking to each other in hushed voices. Ingo was sitting sourly in the shadows as two friendly Gerudo taught Malon the festive dance and Talon slept nearby, ever exhausted from a long days work. Aloarn was resting in Malon's room.

_You can't feel this again, _he said to himself. _Zelda was enough._

_Aloarn isn't Zelda, though, _a different side retorted. Link found himself silenced at this.

Navi, fluttering, ever watchful over the Hero, landed on his shoulder.

"What're you thinking about, Link?" she whispered in her tiny hum. Link's eyes danced over the roaring fire as he tried to collect his thoughts.

"I'm not sure Navi," he said. Thinking up a quick excuse, he smiled a little at the fairy. "I'm trying to plan it out, you know...I mean, if Ganon's coming back...I just need to be alone right now." The fairy seemed to pause.

"I understand, Link," said Navi slowly, "But all you have to do is call me and I'll be here. I'm going to see Epona...remember, I'll always be here to help you. Don't keep anything from me, ok?"

Link smiled as Navi fluttered away and laid back on the tattered tiles of the roof, his gaze leaving the brilliance of the fire to meet the cool comfort of the stars. But his eyes were clouded...Zelda was standing in the clouds, the breeze blowing her gold locks across her face...like the gold of Aloarn's bangs as she gazed through red sand...emerald eyes...something so deep...so intense...so beautiful...

He jumped up as he felt a hand on his shoulder and reached instinctively for his sword. Whirling, he crouched low as a shadowed figure mirrored him. But the shadow's form was different...it's sides were curved, slim waist, smooth hips...he froze when the emerald eyes he had been imagining came into focus.

"I'm sorry to startle you," whispered Aloarn as she fell out of her fighting posture and slid over next to him. Seeing her so close distracted the Hero. He had never been this close to someone so captivating since...

He shook Hyrule's - no, Ter'zai's Princess - from his head and settled down beside the Gerudo. Aloarn glanced over at him.

"Why aren't you with the others?" she whispered. No one could hear them from the rooftop, but they felt the need to whisper all the same. As the girl pulled her knees into her chest, Link's eyes returned to the fire.

"I am no Gerudo," he said quietly. "The law does not apply."

"But you know the Secrets," said Aloarn, smiling slightly. "You know the prayers, the dance, the reason..."

"You know I can't dance as well as the Gerudo," said Link, nudging Aloarn playfully in the shoulder. His grin widened as he heard the soft sound of Aloarn's laugh. For a long moment, they gazed down at the ring of Desert Women, silent.

"Thank you for saving me," she whispered suddenly. Link, startled, fixed her with a disbelieving look. Aloarn's gaze wavered. "...what?"

"It's just..." Link stuttered, catching the gleam of red in her eyes, "You don't seem the kind of person to apologize."

"Manners are the birthright of a Gerudo," whispered the girl, her eyes returning to the fire, "But I must be strong in their presence. I must fight."

Link's heart slowed. She was turned away from him, her beautiful eyes roaming over the ranch, hauntingly gorgeous in the flame's reflection. Her crimson hair was long, straight and free across bare shoulders, while her her slender legs were pulled against her chest in a protective embrace. The way she held herself in the faint light confused Link. It seemed a much too vulnerable position for such a fierce warrior. There was something too mysterious about her...something too enchanting to ignore. Something he couldn't resist. He slid closer.

"You're not in the Gerudo presence," he said, throwing a friendly grin her way. She sought him with her eyes and his smile grew a little. "...you don't always have to fight, you know." Her eyelashes fluttered faintly and she looked down.

"How can you say that?" she whispered. "You've been fighting your whole life...and soon we'll be fighting again. The Gerudo ride tomorrow."

"But we aren't fighting now," responded Link. Aloarn's gaze met his again slowly and he stood up, offering her his hand. "Come on. We know why they dance. Now let's show them." Aloarn couldn't help but laugh as she stood, taking his hand.

"I thought you couldn't dance as well as a Gerudo," she said as she began to leave the rooftop. Link smiled.

"_M'ah ki nu_," he whispered. Aloarn froze near the stairs and turned, hearing him speak in the Gerudo tongue.

"Just this once," he said.

Nabooru caught sight of them as they neared the blazing fire and stood, bowing respectfully to the Advisor. Aloarn put her hands on her hips in slight indignation.

"The Second Star does not bow their respect to an Advisor," she said as Nabooru stood. The older Gerudo smiled and shook her head.

"The Advisor is to be respected by all Gerudo. Status means nothing," she said. Her eyes roamed over the other Gerudo as they sat a few feet away, talking. Link could tell she was lip reading their words.

"Ba'kti wonders about the bond with you and the Hero," she said, setting her eyes on Link. Link caught the protective look in her eyes and felt a twinge of confusion start in him. Had those confused emotions he had been feeling - those strange feeligns he got when Aloarn was too close - had they been so obvious?

"Link is a fellow thief, I gave him the pendant myself," said Aloarn smoothly. "He is a friend of the Gerudo. You of all people should know that, Nabooru." Nabooru nodded with a faint smile.

"We must discuss the plans of Ramil when we halt tomorrow at midday. For now, the Gerudo must give their thanks to Din. The sour one, Link? Is he a friend of yours?"

Link glanced over into the shadows where Ingo still sat, his lip twitching slightly in irritation, as he watched the dancing women.

"Not quite,"" he said. Nabooru cocked a grin.

"All the same, he is needed to lead the riderless mares. Ramil did not let us go without a fight."

She turned to Aloarn and bowed again.

"May the night close with the Dance of the Desert Jewel."

* * *

Link stepped into his room and softly shut the door. Shaking a little, he pressed a hand to his head.

_Wow._

Aloarn was swirling, her hips swaying to the Gerudo drumbeat, her crimson hair flying about her face in dazzling streaks. The belt on her hips was glittering, distracting, enticing...she slid a soft hand over Link's shoulder, across his neck, and grabbed his arm as he followed her closer to the fire. The drums and bells sounded in his ears, drowning out the Gerudo woman's laughter as Aloarn danced away, her beautiful smile flashing...

He shook his head. _She's a friend, a partner, she's here to help defeat Ganon..._

Another Gerudo....one who didn't dance, didn't matter...threw her a tambourine and she raised her arms to slap it. The firelight silhouetted her perfect curves in red light, over her smooth legs, her tan stomach...from behind her blond bangs, a single green eyes gazed out, beautiful, mesmerizing. He wanted to...he needed to...

Her hand hit the tambourine with a loud clash as a soft rapping sounded against the door.

Wiping his forehead he swallowed, faced the door, and opened it.

He sighed inwardly when he saw Ingo standing there.

"What do you -"

Ingo gasped, fell forward and clawed desperately at Link's tunic, his legs giving out from under him. His eyes were bloodshot and weeping as he stumbled and caught himself on the bedpost. His mouth opened and closed, but nothing came out but a terrible weezing that sent shivers up Link's spine.

"Ingo, what's wrong? Ingo -"

"I was...I was..." his voice was dry, croaked and broken. Link tried to support him but the ranch hand raised his hand and waved him away.

"No...stay...away..."

"Ingo, yo need help - Talon! Nab-"

"No...listen...." Link turned back to him and saw his face, white as snow, blood dripping from his lips. A flash went through Link's mind - lolling eyes, coughing blood, a light from a barroom window..._you laughin' at me, boy?_

"He...broken...Princess..." he was hacking up blood now, his eyes dilating horribly, as red spattered across the cold wood floor. His grip on the bedpost was weakening, but still he gestured for Link to stay away.

"Aloarn!" he managed. A fit of laughter broke threw, maddened, spine-prickling, crazed laughter...but his eyes weren't out of focus, but staring at Link with gaping emptiness that froze Link to the spot. He said...Aloarn...Aloarn....

"Broken...Seal, Zelda broke...Aloarn, she is -"

He convulsed, falling to the floor hard on his knees, and vomited blood. His face began, just as Leun's, to decompose before Link's very eyes.

"A curse, on me...on all of them..." he stammered. Link gazed, horrified, as he began to laugh. High, cruel, cold. It echoed through the Hero's head and his hands clenched suddenly and he raised his head to scream.

"TALON!"

Ingo collapsed to the floor in a pile of broken bones.


	7. Run, Run, Run

A soft wind was sighing that early morning. The red sun, which should have been spilling her faint light over the ranch's gates, wept in a small white glow behind a gray veil. The clouds drifted across the sky, threatening rain but not yet releasing it. Shadows fell into the tangled branches of the farm's only tree, a young, delicate oak of green wood. Link's eyes were empty, his blond locks drifting across his fallen face. The gray surface of the tombstone laughed up at him, cackling cruelly in the face of his anguish.

_Her lies_

_**Ingo Ramerez**_

_Beloved friend and worker_

_of Lon Lon Ranch, and the Realm of Hyrule_

_Lost to the Evil Hand of Ganon_

The words were laughing at him, laughing like Leun laughed, like Ingo laughed, insane, crazed...terrible...

He felt a hand on his shoulder and paused. But even in the deep recesses of his guilty heart, he recognized the touch that was Aloarn's.

He did not turn to her, but let her stand beside him, both emerald and azure eyes locked on gray laughter. There was nothing she could do, nothing to ease his torture; he had let another life, among countless others, slip through his fingers. As much as he had despised Ingo, for all his sourness and blubbering and silent irritation, the farmhand had tried with all his might to tell Link, to explain something, something about...about Aloarn.

"Link..."

"I could've saved him."

"It was a Gerudo Curse, Link," she whispered desperately, her hand trembling slightly as she held his shoulder. "One of Me'lkmar. If you had touched him you...you would've died as well..."

"I could've called on Nayru, I could've used magic..."

"Link, it would have done nothing, the curse was too great, and Link - Link_, look at me_ when I speak to you -"

Link ran his tongue over his teeth in sudden anger and turned to glare at her. How could she know? How could she feel? A Gerudo soldier was taught to kill, not to feel or care or love or hate. How could she know-

He froze. Something was glittering, faintly, on those tan cheeks...beneath those beautiful green eyes...something...so familiar...something that looked exactly like -

Aloarn realized what he saw and turned away, closing her eyes, hiding behind her sheet of red hair. She raised her hand to brush them away, but found her fingers entwined with Link's leather-wrapped hand. She gazed at him, terrified of how weak she must look, how she must be betraying the Gerudo - and waited, numb and anxious, as his eyes roamed over the length of her face.

"...you're not like them."

Aloarn couldn't move, couldn't breathe, not with him so close, with the tears betraying her. He was raising his other hand, but she didn't notice.

"My mother was Gerudo, and her mother before her, all Gerudo have some Hylain blood in them but my father's features came out more in me, he was a soldier at the castle -"

She froze as she felt his fingers brush across her face. He stepped closer.

"No..." he whispered. His heart was pounding wildly, his body gone numb. "It's something else..." his fingers glided across her cheek again and she trembled. With a sudden tug her hand slipped from his grip and she turned away.

"Nabooru is waiting. We must ride. Your - your mare is ready, and - Navi is impatient. We must...we must leave."

She glanced back at him, but his gaze was still piercing, haunting. She shook her head and turned, making her way the gate. Slowly but surely, Link followed in her wake, weighing the incident in his mind.

* * *

Hooves thundered, half a mile from the gate, the towers of Hyrule stretching out into the clouded sky, smoke drifting from the ashes of burning buildings...Link raised his shield slightly, defending himself from the embers as Epona galloped ahead of the Gerudo Warriors. Nabooru's voice was still ringing in his head.

_The Seal has broken...Ramil will use the magic of Me'lkmar to restore Ganon to his former state...there are more than seven score with her, against the single score that we possess..._

He did not pause as the drawbridge was being closed. Epona did not start and rear at the moat's edge. The mare leapt, her brilliant white mane glittering in the half-shadows as she skidded down the other side of the drawbridge into the Hylain alley. Link did not pause, did not hesitate. The Gerudo working the drawbridge drew her blade but her throat was slit before she raised it; her fellow gatekeeper tried to run but an arrow found her neck. The drawbridge fell with a deafening slam and the score of Gerudo thundered into the burning city of Hyrule.

Talon prayed for rain as he led the riderless horses through burning streets. Thunder was booming in the sky, faint but proud. Aloarn's steed reared up beside Epona as the mare mounted broken steps, the Temple of Time glittering just on the city's horizon. The Gerudo women fell back as arrows descended on them, cold and bitter and poisoned. Three fell dead and one wounded; Nabooru chorused something in the Gerudo Tongue and she and three others galloped after the Hero and the Advisor.

The Temple gate was guarded with at least a hundred scarlet-haired warriors, the door bolted shut with a thick, wooden plank. As Aloarn saw the impossible odds she slowed on her horse - but Link, still racing astride Epona, grabbed her reins and pulled the mare after him.

"Don't stop, keep next to me!" he shouted.

"We'll be killed!" screamed Aloarn, but the two horses were now neck-and-neck, and there was no going back. As the opposing army charged them Aloarn heard Link mutter something under his breathe. Seconds before colliding with their spears, Link threw something from his belt.

"Din's FIRE!"

The flaming red crystal exploded in a hellish inferno. Gerudo women screamed and fell back, either burned or burning. Horses reared as both saddle and rider caught fire. Aloarn did not stop, did not look back. Link tossed her what she thought, between the screams and flames and smoke, to be a bomb. She lit it off the side of the wall of fire they were now encased in and tossed it, headlong, at the Temple's doors.

The plank shattered, but the stone surface was hardly damaged. Gerudo were screaming and falling back as they saw their comrades burn alive in the city streets. With a crash, Link and Aloarn thundered through the giant doors. The fire faded around Link as he dismounted, slipped on the Golden Gauntlets, and bolted the door shut.

Ramil, the sole other person in the room, hissed in their direction. She was standing before the Doors of Time, blood dripping from cuts on her palms. Before her was a bowl of blood and sand.

"Step down Ramil!" shouted Aloarn. Linkhad an arrow already pointed to her throat. Ramil hissed again and spat onto the white-washed Temple floors.

"Step down? _Step down?_" she laughed in the Advisor's face. "When I am all too close to gaining the glory, the respect, the power? Ganondorf will know who his faithful ones are, he will know who has betrayed the Code of the Gerudo!"

She spun, picked up the bowl, dodged Link's arrow and poured it over the Three Spiritual Stones.

There was a scream as Ramil slipped to the floor, the blood on her palms sizzling. The Stones grew white-hot and shattered beneath the Desert mixture. Aloarn, furious, leapt up the steps and drew her blade to slay the wretched woman - but her swing came up short as Link grabbed her and pulled her under him, his shield above their heads. The Doors of Time exploded.

"Get Navi, she's in Epona's saddlebag," whispered Link quietly as he drew his blade. Aloarn glared.

"I am no serving maid -"

A terrible, high-pitched scream filled the room. From the empty gates of the broken doors, darkness seeped. In her saddlebag, Navi shuddered and struggled to escape.

Ramil's eyes went wide, and a smile lit up on her lips as she gazed into the vacant darkness. She raised her bloody, sandy hands to the doorway.

"My...my King...you have returned..."

Aloarn grit her teeth, her hands clenched on curved blades. But something was wrong. Link saw it from the corner of his eye - she was shaking, her eyes wider than normal, like she was having an internal conflict of which he was not aware.

"Who has given Gerudo blood?"

It was cold, deep, evil. Link knew that voice, knew that darkness, knew all too well...

"It is I, King Ganondorf, Lord of all Gerudo!" shouted Ramil, her eyes glittering. "Ramil, Hka'tie Senior of the Calling, humble thief of Me'lkmar -"

"Ah, Ramil," hissed the voice quietly. He was still a shadow, still darker than starless night, deeper than the tombs of the ancient dead. His voice was cracked, his form shapeless and blacker than the pits of the Hylain Tombs.His eyes were red, unfocused, his pupils rolled to the back of his head. Aloarn was trembling more now, shadows were running through his eyes, terrified, screaming...

"Hka'tie, a humble thief of Me'lkmar," he hissed. Ramil's hopeful face began to fade as the terrible eyes gazed down at her bloody hands.

"Come now, my dear Ramil," he said so quietly that Link strained to hear. "You cannot come before your King as such...and want nothing in return." Ramil's face was falling.

"I - I came to free you, to - to protect the Code of the Gerudo -"

"Ah yes, the Code," he whispered. "But you forsook the Code Ramil...long ago, on the heights of the red rocks...you have bowed to a traitor, Ramil..."

"My- my King! It was necessary to bring about your -your return -"

A giant clawed hand, made of shadow and ash, reached out and grabbed the woman's neck. Ramil's breathe caught and she grabbed Ganon's wrist with both bloody hands. She choked as she felt her blood seep slowly into him. The red eyes were inched from her face as the darkness began to enclose her.

"There are many ways to die, Ramil..."

"STOP!"

Link's arrow flew. It passed straight through the shadow that was Ganon, but it accomplished its goal. Distracted momentarily, Ganon's eyes spun to meet fierce, bright, blue.

"YOU!"

He dropped Ramil and sped forth, but it was Aloarn's turn now. She held up a blade and threw a fistful fo sand into the air.

"_Esai m'eah C'as_!"

Ganon stopped short, snarling terribly in the face of her spell. His shadowed hands clenched.

"Treacherous wench -"

Then he paused, seeing the faint way her shoulders still shook as she held the sword in midair, keeping the spell between them. His fierce eyes pierced her, evil, haunting. He could see it, beneath the emerald surface of her eyes. Fear.

He looked at her closer. Blond bangs, green eyes...Aloarn's grip on the blade loosened as he began t recognize her, to remember. Link stepped forward, almost near enough to touch her, wondering why - and with a single, glittering fang a smile curled on Ganon's lips.

"_I remember you._"

Aloarn shook violently and dropped her blades. Link, barely a foot behind her, caught her as she fell back and held her against him. She clawed at his shirt, unable to tear her eyes from the horror of a bloody gaze, the terror that was Ganon's smile; she buried herself into the Hero's arms as the shadows of Ganon seeped onto the Pedestal, over the marble floors, across the ancient ceiling. The mare had gone insane, while Epona reared as the darkness came closer to her feet, and both horses backed up to the door. Aloarn tried to stammer a prayer as Link raised the Master Sword, shimmering white in the darkness, prepared to fight, to defend her till his last breathe...

With a high-pitched battle cry, Navi burst from Epona's saddlebag.

Her light was blinding in her anger. Ganon roared at the sight as his shadows flung themselves back into the doorway. With a furious screech the darkness swirled, thundered and disappeared. Ramil and Ganon were gone.

And so was Navi.

Outside, it began to rain.


	8. Break Down

There was a faint clatter as bare, cold metal hit the marble floor.

The long blade of the Master Sword glittered among the rubble, abandoned by its master's hand.

Link was frozen. Aloarn saw the vacant look on his face and her heart stopped. The faint blue of those intense, fluorescent eyes was misting with disbelief, his thoughts halted to a sudden stop, his strength fled from his being. Aloarn could almost hear his heart shatter.

"Navi..."

Slowly, the Advisor backed away from his trembling embrace. Link's eyes roamed of their own accord around the Temple, disregarding the terrifying silence that muted the battle outside. Aloarn's eyes left him and fell to the broken floor. Guilt infested the green field of her gaze, voices were screaming in her deaf ears. Slowly her hand roamed to her belt and closed around the handle of a hidden knife. Link's daze ended abruptly and he leapt up, tearing through rubble like a mad man.

"No...no, Navi...no...Aloarn! Where -"

He spun for her help, but for the second time his heartbeat screeched to a stop. Her tangle of red hair was flown about her shoulders, her blond bangs strewed across her face. But her eyes were still fierce, green as emeralds, staring at him with a terror that matched his own. The knife at her throat shimmered slightly and a shadow ran through her eyes.

"I have lost you Navi," she whispered. The tone of her voice was too horrible for Link to bear, the faint glitter of the knife a stab in his chest. "I have shown fear in the face of a foe. I have betrayed the Code of the Gerudo."

"Aloarn," whispered Link. He stepped closer to her, barely breathing, his chest tight with fear. "Navi...and...no, Aloarn...please..."

"The Code is life, the Code is death, the Code is the way of the Gerudo. I must abide by it." The shadows were more defined now, clearer, staining what was flawless emerald beauty...the blade pressed harder into her throat and Link's mind finally snapped on.

"No!"

His hand was on her wrist before she had a chance to strike; she did not predict his speed until she was pressed against his chest, both hands pinned behind her back, his arms locked around her, inescapable. She fought away from him but froze when she met his eyes. For all the strength in his body, the fighting will of a destined Hero, his eyes betrayed his desperation. His weakness.

"Please Aloarn," he whispered, his voice shaking. "...please..."

His strength fled. His hands slipped off hers and fell limp as he gazed at her, his eyes dim with exhaustion. Aloarn felt her own fury, her own fear, melt away. For the second time, a blade crashed to the floor. Her arms found his neck and he gave into her.

"I'm sorry, Link..." she murmured against his ear. Link arms found her waist and he held her, close enough so he was sure she wouldn't vanish, wouldn't leave him. He swallowed as he felt her hands around his neck and realized his eyes were watering. But he refused to cry, to let it show. Desperate for something stable, he held her tighter.

"We will find Navi," whispered Aloarn against his ear. "We will save her. It'll be ok, Link."

Her words were comfort...were renewal...were assurance. And suddenly Link's focus changed. He pulled away from her suddenly, and the intensity og his eyes frightened her.

"Ganon."

She twitched involuntarily at his name before she could stop herself. Link saw it and gripped her tightly, though she turned away from him in shame.

"Aloarn...look at me."

Her mind screamed at her, betrayal, dishonor, weakness. But she met his eyes. Slowly, carefully, Link gazed at her, picked his words with a soft delicacy as Aloarn bagan to shake again.

"What did he do to you?"

Her throat caught. Her chest tightened. The very pulse in her veins seemed to freeze as she gazed at him, eyes all the green of precious emeralds. Link could see it without hearing her utter the words. Shadows were running through her eyes...terrified, screaming...shadows...

With a terrific blast, the doors of the Temple burst open.

Link instinctively stepped in front of Aloarn, but Aloarn had her sword before he even thought of it. But at the door was none other than a very exhausted looking Nabooru.

"_D'iag u mye_! The rebels have fled to seek their King," she said in disgust. She sheathed her sword and wipped the wet hair from her face. "And a coach has passed by. We're going to the castle. Now."


	9. Gathering

_Keep low. Keep hidden. Keep dim._

Navi crouched low behind a pile of ancient writings. The sands of the Desert were swirling around her, the writings of Gerudo legend glowing in the cavern walls. Ages of honor and cunning, of rules and law, of the Code, were flung through the air in violent streaks of red earth. But what was once a legacy of Me'lkmar, the honor of the Code, was now twisted into a recording of deadly corruption. The walls were dank and dripping with spite; carvings on the ceiling twisted into grotesque faces and bodies torn with torture; scorpions crawled through crevasses and snakes hissed their venomous bite from the shadows. The foul stench of blood was fresh on the wind. Ramil lay in the dust, rough sand blasting at her motionless body, her face scarred, her body broken, and the spark of her life all but gone.

The shadow that was Ganon was descending; he had looked upon the ancient Code again and seen things in coming that did not take to his taste. His hatred tainted the sand on which he stepped and it melted into glass. Soon the cave was no more than a continuos reflection of the Gerudo King, and Navi shuddered at seeing him everywhere, with not even the possibility of escape. Silently she felt the stirring wrath in him, and the impending doom that lay upon Ramil. She crouched lower and dimmed her pink light so that she was nearly invisible - though the very act caused the tiny fairy unspeakable pain.

_Keep low. Keep hidden. Keep dim -_

"Do you know why you bleed, Ramil?" hissed the shadow. His voice was dripping with fury, his eyes narrowed and glaring at the Gerudo's misshapen form. Ramil's body convulsed horribly and blood dribbled from her parched lips.

"I...bowed...t...to...a...t-traitor..."

"_Yes, Ramil_."

It was too sudden and calculated for Navi to avert her gaze. There was a stab and a howl from the wretched woman, and the Hka'tie star was thrashed with blood and grime. She did not move, and Navi thought, momentarily, of her death - but Ganon, in his silent fury, gripped her neck and lifted her from the floor.

"You know what must be done."

Ramil's head rolled, barely conscious, as she struggled to say yes. She choked beneath the King's grip and her eyes fluttered with the first faint comings of death. Ganon was unmoved as his countenance began to show a twisted, fiendish delight in watching her suffer.

"No one must know."

He dropped her to the floor. The sand closed in around her and she screamed, but it was momentary. Quite suddenly she sat up, and Navi stifled a gasp when the wounds in her flesh vanished. Ganon hissed as she struggled to her feet. With the same speed and motion his hand closed on hers and she screamed, long and piercing, as smoke rose from her hand. Then he grabbed her by the neck and threw her towards the doorway. She rolled over through the sand and stopped when her back slammed against the first step. The schorching emblem of a burning star was scarred onto the back of her right hand.

"You will gather the outcast tribes. You will recruit the dishonored. If it takes you to the edges of the Haunted Wastelands, to the deepest sands of the Desert, you will bring them. I will destroy the leaders of each race. Their captains will be lost. Hyrule will remain unguarded. And the girl."

He paused, hissing slightly, and turned towards the sand-mirrors.

"They must never know. They must think it is Zelda. If you fail, your reward will be heavier even then death itself."

Ramil trembled and began to crawl up the stairs, her lips muttering prayers of thanks to Din. Ganon, distracted by the own deformity of his shadowed reflection, ground his teeth into the mirrors. Ramil paused, briefly.

"...What of the Hero, my King?"

Ganon's red-rimmed eyes shot open and he spun, gripped the sand with two hands of iron claw, and roared headlong at the Gerudo. Fangs glittered as he vomited darkness and blood into the sand. She screeched and bolted up the stairs in terror.

Ganon kneeled down, his breathe hissing.

"I know how to get to the boy."

Then he turned his disfigured head and glared...

Straight into Navi's terrified eyes.

* * *

Link walked through the gleaming oak doors of the Hyrule Castle's main front chamber with Aloarn beside him. The stairs were lined with purple carpet and the symbol of the Triforce adorned banisters across the hall; knights in full armor were standing guard, as well as butlers and maid servants come to see what result the attack would bring. Link nodded to a few servants he knew, only to have his attention drawn to high-pitched, piercing, and outraged voice.

"Betrayal! Treachery! What have the Hylains done against the Gerudo, that we should receive such a brutal and disgraceful act of treason? When I was last here you told me, allies. Allies! I see the true nature of the Gerudo wench, your uncouth nature, your disgusting barbarity, your deceitful wickedness -"

"Hold your tongue, Princess," roared Aloarn, her anger stirred dangerously within her chest. Nabooru's teeth were grinding, her hand at the hilt of blade, barely restraining herself. Alea, meek but calm as ever, was attempting to restrain her newly-arrived cousin from further berating the Second Star.

Zelda was puffed-up and furious. Her neck seemed choked with precious stones that out shone her own complexion, making her face seem drawn and sallow. However, her cheeks were now burning beneath mounds of make-up as she hissed in fury at the two Gerudo. Her dress was so tight she hardly seemed able to breathe, much less scream in such a manner; the contrasting symbol of a red shield, the symbol of Ter'zai, decorated the silver satin of her expensive and useless gown. Her hair was so high upon her head she looked three feet taller, and the amount of jewelry at her ears, waist, wrists, fingers, ankles - Link felt the uncontrollable desire to laugh and be sick at the same time. But Zelda was in no laughing mood. Her expression changed to one of disbelief, which led her to a deeper, more profound anger.

"How dare you speak to me as such, unworthy rat! Not Princess, but Queen! Queen of Ter'zai, and worth more than ten thousand of the likes of you! Beg forgiveness, wretch!"

Aloarn roared and would have drawn her blades then, dispatching the Princess herself, but Link grabbed her just in time. Nabooru, however, was unbound, and just as furious that her kinswoman was treated as such. A dagger flickered, and Zelda gasped when she felt cold metal on her throat.

"You will bring us to the Council chambers." spoke the Second Star slowly. "We will discuss who attacked your precious town, and what consequences you must now accept. This is not Ter'zai, _Princess_. This is Hyrule, the land you once swore to protect."


	10. The Banished

"Ganon is back, Zelda," whispered Link into Zelda's unfocused eyes. "He's back."

Zelda was silent. Slowly her gaze lowered to her hands and she remained still, lost in thought. Nabooru was studying the edge of her blade, uninterested in the Princess' reaction to the news. Aloarn sat quietly in her chair, still harboring a slight grudge against the Zelda's treatment of Nabooru.

"I apologize greatly for my behavior, Nabooru, Aloarn," said Zelda finally. Her voice was wispy and faint, and Link could see her hands shaking a little. "I did not - I was - no, no excuses will do. It is my right as a Sage, and a bearer of the Triforce peice, to once again seal away this evil." As she said this her voice grew strong again and she looked up at Link, as though to say she were ready to take up arms and go fight Ganon at the very moment. But the Advisor had words that caused her to deflate in confidence.

"He will not be sealed away again, Princess," said Aloarn smoothly, her shining green eyes cutting through Zelda like a knife. Standing from her chair, she walked quietly to the window and looked outside, where the rain clouds had drifted away and left a sunny sky in its place. Zelda turned her gaze from Link, to Nabooru, to Aloarn again.

"Of course he shall be sealed again, we hold the keys, we can trap him -"

"He is stronger now, Zelda," said Link slowly, and Zelda turned to him. "Without even physical form he bears a greater power than that he had two years ago. It is Me'lkmar's lore, the Code of the Gerudo. The Power of Din."

"How came you to know this?" whispered Zelda. Aloarn caught Link's eye from across the room.

"He has read the Scripts. He knows the Ancient Law. He knows of lost honor."

"Yet this is past," said Nabooru irritably. She wanted no time wasted and she stood from her chair, locking eyes with Zelda. "Find your cousin, Alea, for if you left Hyrule in her charge she too must know of this. We have little time. The Scripts told of this return in vague tongues, a warning that we did not heed. Ramil knew of it and was certain it would come to pass. Evil as she is, she is yet wise. _Esia h'gi outma l'iu y hkru._"

"The Earth will tremble beneath a second shadow," whispered Aloarn softly, her eyes clouding as she looked down into the courtyard below. Link's heart slowed as he looked at her; for brief second, he felt an irresistible need to embrace her.

"The Code has never lied," said Nabooru, snapping Link from his trance. "It tells of all. Yet the Scripts are hazy in memory. It would do better to have them with us now."

"All this is irrelevant," spoke up Aloarn. "The King has returned. He will draw to him all those that are faithful, and some even who are not. He will take back his followers. We have little time to waste."

"Patience, Aloarn. I have one final question, Zelda. It is an incident still unclear to me. Link, on his first encounter with a Gerudo curse, felt the burning Triforce in his hand. Have you, on the shores of Ter'zai, experienced anything similar?"

Zelda shook her head, unable to utter words. Nabooru seemed to think, momentarily.

"You were far away. The Triforce lay dormant in you. Come, Princess. Link, take Aloarn to the courtyard. We will discuss plans there. Have four horses saddled and ready. We leave by this night."

Nabooru walked briskly out of the room, her air one of great haste and importance; Zelda rose to follow, but paused as Link left his seat. Turning slowly, she looked briefly on him.

"I have missed you, Link," she whispered. Link opened his mouth to reply, but something horrible, something completely nauseating, swelled into his throat. She had burned and broken him, torn his heart to pieces, made him suffer long years in an exiled life, roaming the lands for signs of evil. Evil she had denied existed, evil which had returned despite her protests. For a brief moment, Link felt and unequaled hate rise in his chest.

"We will speak again tonight. I must write home to Rothak and tell him I will be delayed. Farewell, dear Link."

Then she turned away from, her dress glittering with vanity, and followed Nabooru from the hall.

Link swallowed the nauseous feeling in his throat and turned to Aloarn, who was looking at him intensely. The depth and understanding of her gaze startled him.

"Aloarn?" he said, the light glinting softly in her emerald eyes. Her gaze broke and she turned suddenly away, seemingly distracted.

"Nabooru told us to meet in the courtyard. But first we should get the horses...come, let's go to the stable and find Epona."

* * *

The day was growing late, and Ramil slowed upon her anxious steed. The mare's hooves were sinking into the rough sand and it struggled to keep its footing. Ramil ignored the fidgeting of the horse as she turned her body from the blasting sand-winds that enwrapped the horizon and caused her vision to blur. The Haunted Wasteland was not her preferred landscape, and the Desert did not seem to welcome her arrival. Her deep yellow eyes refused to pierce the walls of swirling sandstorm, and she covered her eyes with a lucid veil for protection. Only five others road with her, inexperienced but nonetheless armed to the teeth, war paint glittering on their sun-tanned bodies. None of them had yet dealt with outcasts, with those of dishonor; they had heard no more than terrible stories passed down by Stars, Advisors, Hka'tie Seniors and Tya'toi Captains. They were no more than extra baggage that Ramil dragged with her as a shield.

The Hka'tie searched through the dust for a shadow, seeking the silhouette of a crouching woman through the blasting winds. The Banished always struck under such conditions; it was prime time to entrap an enemy when they were unable to see the attack.

Her eyes caught something hazy from within the storm, and her instincts kicked into gear. Hearing a step in the sifting sand from beneath the howling winds, she leapt and drew her blade. The mare floundered in the sands but it's dismay was short-lived; a spear flashed through the air, too fast for the wind to carry, and tore swiftly through the great creature's neck. The mare fell with a hoarse scream, and the other women leapt from their horses, seeking to follow the lead of the Senior Gerudo.

Three spears followed the first and two women fell. Ramil crouched low to the earth, fearing the deadly aim of unseen foes, but felt her stomach turn. A low rumbling sounded in the hollows beneath her feet, deep into the crevasses that the sands of the Desert covered. She gasped and, half rolling through the red sands, bolted away as a Desert Worm erupted from the earth beside her in a deafening explosion. The remaining three women screeched as they were pulled down into the sand pits.

She crawled away, sensing with her body the tremors of the earth in case the Worm should re-approach, only to have the back of her shirt grabbed and her scarred body thrown to the ground. She knew their ruthless and the immediate death that awaited her, and followed the custom of Banishment. Throwing out her hand, the freshly burnt star of dishonor scorched through the desert air and the unseen enemies around her paused.

A spear poked her side, and something was hissed in a broken and altered form of the Gerudo tongue. A rusted blade came to her throat, and though she still remained blind, she heard the soft click of their words.

"_H'uy tg tairu l'ik o._"

Ramil sat up and let two women drag her away. Her response was lost on the wind.

"Take me to Vulhal."

She was brought to an oasis that was overused and quickly turning into desert itself; the water supply was draining and ten woman guarded the last remains with their lives. The number of outcasts were greater than those of the faithful Gerudo, and the women glared at Ramil, the Hka'tie star a mockery of their banishment. Several of these women had once, themselves, been Hka'tie, and they gnashed their teeth at the sight of her. Their faces were scarred with the abuse of a shamed life, the stars and moons washed from their face with blood, the tattoos on their bodies covered with scratches, burns, cuts, and wounds from deadly fights. Some had pieces of armor still on their tense bodies: spiked, iron shoulder plates held on with ropes of leather, or sand-blasted breastplates that covered only half their chest. Belts filled with poisons and cursed sands hung about the waists of women with broken spears, while knives were in the hands of those with armored gloves and string necklaces of dead rattlesnakes. They wore half-masks of melted and misshapen helms, covered in crude paint and dried blood, disfiguring their partly-covered faces into monstrous visions. Women looked up as they killed scorpions and dripped their venom into bowls of sand, where they called upon demons to curse the spell and make it deadlier than poison. Fights broke out constantly as Ramil was dragged, and she saw several women ambushed and killed, whereas their bodies were drawn to a community fire.

They threw Ramil onto the sandy earth before one woman who held more scars than any other Gerudo she had seen. One of her eyes was cut out of its socket and a chunk was missing from her side; her hair was turning grey, but she showed not even the smallest sign of age. The helm she wore was twisted into a warped shape of a viper's head, and there was writing of dishonor and shame written across her entire body. Her entire waist was a giant belt of human skulls - Gerudo, no doubt, that she had killed herself. Ramil pushed herself to her feet and stood, staring fiercely into the eyes of her kinswoman.

"Vulhal. The Poisoned Skull," she spat in disgust.

"Ramil. The Kneeling Wolf," glared Vulhal. She clicked her tongue at the woman beside her, who left and returned with a large platter of food. The guest dish was placed before Ramil, but all it consisted of was one large, strange-looking slab of fire-cooked meat. Ramil's lip twitched at the smell of it and she turned her nose away.

"I do not eat human flesh," she hissed. The Banished around her ground their teeth, knowing the underlying insult that was being directed towards them. Vulhal's one eye lowered.

"You are an Outcast. You will eat what the Banished are forced to eat. Or have you no stomach, my old friend?"

"Take it from me. And do not call me friend, snake," said Ramil, venom seeping from her voice. "I was sent to bring you news. The King has returned to the Fortress."

Silence fell on the group. Women who had been eavesdropping ran to tell the news to other women. The Guards around Vulhal turned and looked at each other uncertainly. Vlhal raised herself from her seat and stared straight into the Hka'tie's eyes.

"You lie."

"Only the King can Banish, Vulhal. I have the mark. He wants you all to return."

Vulhal sank back into her seat, the skulls on her waist jangling slightly. She looked around the oasis at the other women, studying the effect the Banishment had on her fellow Gerudo. From somewhere afar off, the dying scream of a Gerudo drifted through the air.

"Why does he want us? He cast us out, Ramil."

"We are taking Hyrule. His power is great, Vulhal. If you come, he will reward you splendidly. You will have your choice of the kill, and to torture the living enemy as you please"

Vulhal eyes brightened slightly at these words she raised herself in her seat. The other women around her waited, tensely, for her response.

"How can I trust this?"

Ramil locked eyes with the dreaded outcast and sank down onto her knees. Reaching down, she picked the slab of meat off the platter and gazed straight into her eyes.

"Trust in me, my old friend."

Then she raised the flesh to her mouth and tore her teeth through it.

Around her, the Banished women let up a hooting chorus of howls and chants. Vulhal's one eye glared in a sinister grin at Ramil, who smiled confidently as she chewed the meat.


	11. The Depth of Evil

Aloarn raised her hand slowly, delicately. The soft shadows of moonlight ran down the length of her arms and silhouetted her slim form, casting an eerie, silver-blue aura about her body. The deep tan of her skin seemed to lighten; her face paled as she continued to move, rhythmically, to the beat of her own heart. The sand in her hand sifted through her fingers and fell, glittering, to the dark ground. Her eyes shone like dark pools, the green faint and shadowed in the trance of the Gerudo ritual.

"_Esai d'oku li. Pa ruh' mt'a kie._.." Chanted Nabooru softly. The rows of burial mounds before her were few, but the deep sorrow in her gaze revealed the names and faces of each loyal Gerudo that lay beneath green earth. No proper tradition had been carried out for their funerals; they had been killed by their own kin, and were never to rest in the red sands in which they had been born.

Aloarn turned and drew the edge of her foot along the ground in a strange pattern. The star she drew beneath her had only four points, not the traditional five. Link watched her draw the star with an attentiveness that rivaled his anguish. His guilt was deepening as the lives around him were extinguished, as soldier he knew would never fight again. As each point of the star was etched into the ground, Link caught Aoarn's eyes and the knowledge of the Code was whispered in thought.

The first point was Nayru, more wise and ancient than time itself. The souls would rise to her in offering and she would judge in their hearts who the child belonged to. For the Gerudo, they would pass on to the second point, where stood Frarore. Her green arms would wash them in blessed water and clothe them with the armor of their victories. Their defeats she would cast off, sending into the Dark Realms of the world where evil men would bear them. Last they would approach Din, their secret goddess. At the gates of the Blessed Realm, the message that Aloarn wrote in the earth would be delivered, to offer the souls of the Women of West to Din. It was then the judgment of the Goddess of Power to determine if the Gerudo entered, or lay abandoned in the Middle Realms.

The final point of the star was drawn, and the eternal joy of the Blessed Realm was etched into the earth. Scattering the sands across the symbol, Aloarn bowed her head and quietly stepped away from the graveyard. The star glowed faintly, shining red against the dark green of Hyrule Field, and then faded. The souls of the fallen Gerudo had begun their journey.

Link stole a glance around their caravan, which was relatively small in comparison to what Zelda originally wanted. Nabooru wanted the Princess, the Hero, the Advisor, and herself to be the only ones to leave - but future Queen of Ter'zai persuaded bringing twenty castle soldiers, none of whom had the faintest idea what the mission was of or why their beloved city had been attacked, and who Nabooru deemed instantly as completely unreliable.

But Link did not care of castle soldiers; his thought bent, solely, to blond bangs, entrancing green eyes, a soft soul beneath masks of strength. Aloarn stood beside him, watching the light fade from the burial star, her eyes shining but refusing to cry.

As Nabooru turned back to camp, Link stepped closer to her. Zelda had complained of thieves and dangers, and Gerudo law required one night of prayer in honor of the fallen, so Nabooru could not even allow herself to leave. Tents had been pitched and the soldiers gathered around small fires, laughing and heedless of the seriousness their mission really carried. Zelda had retired to her tent and had refused to let anyone enter.

It was when Aloarn's hair brushed the back of his tunic did she realize he was behind her; turning and stepping away simultaneously, her face lit up a little.

"The star will shine again as the sun rises," she spoke softly.

"To show that Din has received them," agreed Link with an encouraging smile. Then they both turned and watched the graves, as though waiting to see the women's souls drift from the earth and rise into the starlit sky. Aloarn's face changed suddenly and the wispy, dreamlike state of the night faded.

"He has done this."

Link's countenance faltered into fury for a brief moment, and he regained himself.

"He will not go unpunished, Aloarn. He has already taken too many lives..." the guilt poured down on him again and he though of Ingo, of the man at the bar, of the casualties all those seven, long years.

"...Lives I should have saved."

Aloarn heard the defeated tone of his voice and turned to him. He had no choice but to look back, the crystal blue of his eyes half-hidden in shadow, his blond hair covering the beaten visage of his handsome face. She could not bear him in this state and she raised her hand, brushing the hair from his eyes. His gaze pierced through her, but she dare not break it.

"You cannot blame yourself," she whispered. Link's ears heard her, but she seemed so much like a dream that he could not make out the reality of the situation. Was she some fantasy that he had though up? Was she really there in front of him? Was she just the ghost of someone else he had abandoned, the soul of some dead woman that he had been too late to save?

Then he felt the soft touch of her hand on his face and his thoughts were put to rest.

"There are so many you have saved...and so many you have protected. It is...it is Ganon who has killed them, not you." Link's gaze cleared. The falter on that name, the hesitation -

"Ganon. _Ganon_."

This time, she flinched visibly. Whether she had lost some control in the effort to comfort him or merely did not want to hide it, she allowed Link to see the pain the name caused her. Carefully, he tried to wrap his arms around her, a vain effort to comfort her; but she shuddered at his touch and pulled away.

"Link, you...you can't...the Code..."

"This isn't about the Code," whispered Link so gently that Aloarn was unable to disagree. His heart was punding in his chest and his mind was screaming at him, but he ignored it.

Gently he slipped his arms around her for the second time, making sure his grip was loose enough so that she could step away if she desired; but this time, she seemed unable to move.

Aloarn was torn. Her secret was screaming in her brain, dangling at the edge of her lips, ripping up her body in an effort to escape. But to tell...to tell would mean death, destruction, dishonor, and he would know...Ganon would know...

But Link did not ask her. He held her, strong for her, understanding. The quiet comfort of his embrace was something Aloarn had never felt. Carefully, she rested her head into his shoulder, where she could feel the subtle movements of his chest as he breathed, calm and quiet. For a long moment she dare not move, dare not speak, for fear that he would vanish, or walk away, or -

She shivered at the thought. Link felt it but said nothing. Gently, he rubbed his thumb along her side in an effort to comfort her, and Aloarn felt the weight of her secret overcome her. A single tear slid, glittering, down her cheek.

"Ganon..."

Link waited, but knew she wouldn't continue without encouragement. Gently he pressed his cheek to hers and the Advisor bit her lip and closed her watering eyes. The shadows in her mind were beginning to vanish into the night.

"...I was twelve..."

Link could feel an oncoming surge of rage and subdued it. He closed his eyes and gave all his attention to her voice. She struggled slightly, but went on.

"...My mother tried...to stop him...she tried to...offer herself...

Her voice was getting more broken, but she went on, encouraged by Link's protective embrace, his silent understanding, the feeling of safety he gave her.

"He killed her for...interfering..."

The rage simmered, but Link kept it in his control.

"I was...so scared...but he didn't care. He...the look, in his eyes..."

She trembled violently and gripped Link's tunic. Link, once again subduing his rage, held her to stop her from shaking and spoke quiet words in her ear. Aloarn's hands went to his shoulders and she looked up, her eyes shining and terrified, and locked his gaze.

"I'm so scared, Link..."

Link shook, but regained his composure for her sake; the fury in his chest threatened to loose hell upon the world, and from within its sheath, the Master Sword began to glow. But his voice was even as he gazed at her.

"You don't have to be, Aloarn," he whispered, placing on hand on her beautiful face. "Not anymore. I'm going to protect you. He's never going to hurt you again. I'm...I'm so sorry. I'll make him pay. I won't let him hurt you."

Aloarn swallowed and she layed her head on his tunic again, seeking the comfort of his arms. But the effect was short lived; from the campsite, they were putting the fires out, and the soldiers were beginning to turn in.

Aloarn saw it and sniffed, raising herself from his shoulder. Link did not break his gaze from her; gently he raised his hand and wiped the tears from her face, stopping briefly to entwine his fingers in the long locks of her crimson hair. She smiled as he did so, almost disbelieving that he was content with her and willing to keep this secret without prejudice; his gaze was full of care and, though terrified it may be a trick, she nonetheless took solace in it.

"It's late," he whispered. Aloarn nodded, breaking eye contact.

Link hesitated only for a moment; then he leaned in, and placed a short soft kiss on her forehead.

Aloarn gripped tighter to his shirt before pulling away, her soul at peace for the first time she could remember. And when she whispered him a goodnight, it was with a note of regret.

Link watched her until she entered her tent and the lights went out. His body began to shake and he left the campsite, heading towards the bridge to Kakariko. Stopping a few feet from the river, his shoulder began to tremble.

He tore the Master Sword so quickly and ruthlessly from its sheath that the Skeletons attacking him were hacked into pieces before getting within five feet. He chopped their skulls before they could get all the way from the ground; he cut the marrow out of their dead bones and hacked the remains into pieces. Eventually they stopped attacking him, but he was furious and fell upon the scattered bones of those he had already destroyed. When that was no longer satisfying, Link roared, lacking something to let out his rage upon, and slammed his sword into the earth.

His hatred threatened to consume him, but he resolved on something else. Ganon had hurt Aloarn in ways that could never be cured, never healed.

Sweat dripped down his face and He gazed out in the vacant darkness, the Master Sword gleaming at is side. If it took his own life, every ounce of his strength and skill, he would get revenge.

He would make Ganon suffer.

* * *

Navi could feel the water entering her lungs, but she was too weak to cough, to fight. She no longer glowed with light, and her frail naked body lay almost invisible in the raging waters of the Gerudo Valley river. She was swept downstream without any resistance, praying to Frarore to bless the small offering of her beaten body.

The next thing she heard was a gurgling voice; someone grabbed her by her torn and damaged wings and turned her over, so that the water flowed from her lungs. She was set down again, choking slightly, and tried to distinguish the voice above her.

"..the Hero's fairy...near death..."

But she was too weak; her small frame of her body collapsed on her and the last thing she saw was the long, wet blades of grass that grew beside the River.


	12. Burning Up

It was two days later when the silent caravan reached a bustling Kakariko. The villagers, upon seeing the arrival of their long vacated Princess, stared in shock and pushed themselves to the sides of the road, where the horses neighed in frustration at being kept in crowded corners. Children who were too young to know any formalities burst into bouts of joy at the sight of their fairy-tale heroes; but their laughter died when Nabooru, brilliant but cold, rode by in the rear, stern-faced with the thought of what lay ahead.

Epona walked slowly behind Aloarn's steed, and Link took the moment to gaze around at the awe-struck civilians that lined the road. This time, his hood was not up; the face of the Hero of Time was looked on with both admiration and shock - many thought they would never live to see him again. It was this sort of thing that made Link squirm. He did not like his name known by every pair of lips, to be a marvel shown about as a trophy. To be remembered was one thing; to be renowned for deeds he had done; but Link didn't want the publicity of a living hero. At this moment he remembered the incident at the bar, and through the dense crowd caught the eye of the barman. When he saw the soldiers and the two Gerudo in the group he shook his head dismally at the Hero. He mouthed only one word to Link, a word Link dreaded to hear uttered out loud.

"War?"

He nodded to the man and he shook his head, retreating to the momentary sanctuary of his inn. Link, preoccupied with the sudden onset of such a brutal term, barely noticed that the caravan had stopped. Epona halted and he moved his gaze to Aloarn, who had slowed and now walked beside him.

"There is someone in the path," she whispered to him. Link looked ahead to see Zelda dismounting in front of the village well. She embraced a dark form, taller than herself, plated with armor. It was only when Link saw the white locks of hair and the bold impression in her face did he realize that Impa stood in waiting.

The Hero and the Advisor dismounted. Nabooru slid from her horse and commanded the soldiers to remain on their steeds, not wanting them to interfere. Impa's gaze turned first to Link, who she sought with a rare smile. In all of Impa's years toiling in the depths of tombs, unraveling the mysteries of the spirits, only Link had the same idea of the horrors of Hyrule's departed dead.

"Link," said Zelda softly as he approached. "Impa has news for us. A shadow passed over this town last night - a shadow that came from the Desert."

"He has been here, then," said Aloarn, her gaze shifting around the town. "You can see the fear he has left in their hearts. What business does he have in Kakariko?"

"He came to find me," spoke Impa suddenly, stepping forth from the shadows beside Zelda. "It is not safe to discuss anything here. Zelda, command your soldiers to stay the night at the Inn. Tell them I will be guarding you. Tonight we must climb Death Mountain, for the shadow has not yet left the Gorons."

Zelda twitched slightly but nodded her consent to her caretaker. She left briskly and Nabooru grinned at Impa.

"You can't stand them either, can you?"

"I've worked my whole life with castle guards. They are useless in this situation. Why did she bring them, and why has she returned? And Link, why have you come forth after living in disguise?"

"Zelda has changed, Impa," said Link decisively. "She is no longer the Princess you knew. Her thoughts are of appearances and wealth; but there are good reasons for her return. The shadow that passed over this town is an old foe of ours, one we thought was sealed away. We will need her help to defeat him again."

Impa paused, and her gaze fell on Aloarn. Aloarn caught her eye for a moment and bowed slightly to the Sheikah out of deep respect, though she knew not who she was. Impa smiled at her and shook her head, encouraging her to stand up.

"Zelda has grown apart from herself," said Impa slowly. She was studying the blonde lock in Aloarn's hair. "I know longer feel a power in her. I fear her wisdom has been crushed since I last saw her."

"I also have felt a lack of truth in her," said Nabooru as Zelda waved away her soldiers and came trotting back, holding her nose high into the air as citizens called out to her in greeting. "Yet nothing can be certain. She carries the Triforce of Wisdom, and that is something we cannot deny."

"Yet she left for Ter'zai," said Impa slowly. Her gaze faltered slightly. "...she abandoned Hyrule."

"Not now, Impa," said Nabooru hurriedly. Zelda trotted up to them, graceful but carrying an annoying air of superiority. She did not speak, but nodded to Link, casting a breif glance over the two Gerudo, and waited patiently beside Impa in a serious silence. Aloarn ground her teeth slightly at the conceited air of Hyrule's Princess.

Impa led them from the town in haste; she seemed unwilling to meet the questioning stares of passerby and relocated the group to the only spot that remained unoccupied - the Kakariko Graveyard. The empty shack beside the tombstones had not been touched since the death of its owner. Ripped clippings and prices for tours were still hanging off the sides of the building, and Zelda shuddered as she caught sight of the cobwebs and dust that hung in clouds around the small structure. She stopped before reaching the door.

"Surely we can discuss these things in some other spot?" she insisted, not even daring to touch the doorknob with her perfect white gloves. "Impa...can we not stay at the inn? No one would spy on us in Kakariko. They are a...trustworthy people." As she said this her gaze fluttered over Aloarn. A fury rose in her chest and died away again.

"Do not suggest - "

"Patience, Aloarn," said Nabooru. She turned back with a glare at the Princess. "We came here to discuss without others around us. You will stay and hear the tale Impa has to tell - "

"Nabooru, peace. I can easily tell Zelda later at the inn. Link, if you and -" she paused and Link remembered his manners.

"Aloarn, Advisor to the Gerudo," he said hurriedly, placing Aloarn before him. She bowed again, this time with more confidence, and Impa nodded.

"Very well. Nabooru, take Zelda back to the inn and stay with her until my coming. Link, Aloarn, I will tell you the tale first, and tomorrow we must begin our way up Death Mountain. The power of Darunia fades in my heart; I fear the worst. If all is what I believe it to be, then we have little time. Go, Zelda, and I will meet you later."

Zelda nodded and turned, but waited for Nabooru to take the lead. Nabooru shook her head at Impa and the Sheikah mouthed an apology to her Gerudo friend. In a moment both women disappeared into the night, and Impa led Link and Aloarn past the first row of gravestones and into the broken house.

* * *

Vulhal licked her fanged teeth and swayed from side to side. The trees bowed silently before her, defenseless to the spears of the Banished. The woods grew, but the growth made them weak; the Outcasts were dying ever so slightly, but it was what kept them strong. Her one eye moved in all directions, ever watchful for threat. But the bridge into the Kokiri Forest was abandoned, and the cunning and stealth of the Banished Gerudo warrior took over. 

She slid silently down and embankment and began to climb up the other side. Behind her, women in disfigured armor followed, hissing and gnashing their yellow teeth. They scrabbled the ground with fingernails that had been uncut and grew like claws from their bony hands; their stomachs almost ran along the ground like snakes, their backs parallel to the brown earth, shoulders tensed and ready to strike. Following the lead of Vulhal they crept towards a clearing where the trees grew more sparsely. Makeshift houses had been built in the branches of large oaks, with rope ladders that dangled, all too invitingly, from their doorways.

Vulhal looked back at a Gerudo with a red breastplate and clicked her tongue. The women took a pouch from her pocket and picked a piece of stray wood off the ground. Scattering a powdered sand mixture onto the wood, she breathed a spell of death against it. The wood burst suddenly into flame, and the women crawling up behind them grabbed sticks and lit them off of her own. Vulhal took a branch and crept farther forward. The fires were bright and a few Kokiri were emerging from their homes in confusion.

Mido stepped out of his tree house and rubbed his eyes sleepily. His fairy hovered over his shoulder, and he could feel the fear in her voice.

"Mido...Mido? Are those...are those fairies? Mido?"

Mido's brain came to a stop. The lanterns that were being lit in the forest were not fairies, were not spirits. As he gazed at them, the closest came into full view.

The one eye of Vulhal glared in devilish ecstasy as he stared, dumbfounded. She screamed a death cry that awakened every sleeping Kokiri; armed Gerudo poured into the forest and threw their torches into the unresisting trees. Mido yelled for the other forest children but his cry was lost. He choked and stumbled down the ladder from his tree, only to come face-to-face with the one eyed, disfigured woman who had thrown the first torch.

The bloodlust filled her yellow eyes and she reared forwards. Around them, the Kokiri screamed in torture and the forest went up in smoke.

* * *

"The shadow has passed Kakariko, and I have no doubt that it is Ganon who embodied that form. If this is the case than Darunia must have led his people to the sanctuary of the Fire Temple in hopes of escape. Ganon will not be able to stand being so close to one of the forces that defeated him." 

"But he holds the Triforce of Power!" said Aloarn fiercely. "Fire is his ally! He may draw strength from such a source -"

"Not while Darunia is a Sage, Advisor," said Impa. "But there is another matter. The Code of the Gerudo, the Scrolls - have both of you read them?"

Link and Aloarn both nodded, though they did not know how this applied to the situation.

"Good," said Impa. She stood and looked out the broken window of the shack, her expression one of deep understanding.

"Aloarn," she said suddenly, locking eyes with the Gerudo. "Do you know who your father was?"

Aloarn shook her head, misunderstanding. Link looked from Impa to the Gerudo in slight confusion.

"It shouldn't matter who fathered Aloarn -"

"It does matter," said Impa firmly. Her eyes were boring into Aloarn, who studied her with bewilderment. "The Code told of a second shadow, of the betrayal of a Sage. How the Triforce can replace itself in another."

There was silence to this. Link, his mind flashing to the night at the bar, looked on the back of his hand as if to see the Triforce glowing intensely against the darkness in the house. Predicatably, there was nothing, and he looked back to Impa, who had opened the door to the shack.

"Remember what I have said, and do not take everything for what it seems. Me'lkmar's ashes are scattered far and wide over Hyrule. Link, if you have need, you know the path. The eyes of death can see the life of tomorrow."

She left instantly to return to Zelda, and Link sat in silence, brooding over her words.

The house was one room, and small. Inside it was arguably cleaner than outside, apart from several spider webs that hung from ceiling corners. In one corner stood a desk piled over with deteriorating scrolls of paychecks, taxes, burial information, and several notes and letters written to unknown correspondents. Link sat in a slightly uncomfortable chair that was situated in front of the desk, a though someone, after all this time, was going to sit own and study the neglected papers. Aloarn sat crossed leg on a low mattress across the room where she gazed out the window at the dark clouds that hovered above the village. A few drops of rain were beginning to slide down the glass of the window.

"Din's strength is in fire," she spoke suddenly. Link looked at her when he heard this, and walked over to the mattress. Sitting beside her, he waited for her to go on.

"He loved the power of fire," she whispered. Her green eyes clouded with the faintest comings of fear. "He...he used to torture the women with it."

She shivered and Link put his arm around her. This time she did not hesitate, but fell into his shoulder so naturally that Link had to concentrate almost all his thought into slowing down his heartbeat.

"It's alright," he whispered. "He's not going to hurt you. Not here."

Aloarn looked up at him and smiled faintly, taking a much deeper sense of comfort in his words. Then she lowered her head onto his shoulder and there was a long moment of silence. Finally, Link felt her shift in his embrace.

"This is against the Code, Link," whispered Aloarn. The rain outside was beating softly against the house in a steady, calming rhythm; Link closed his eyes and rested his head against the wall, trying his best to pick out the appropriate thing to say, trying to focus on what needed to be done the following day and the dangers that lay ahead. But when he opened his eyes, so many feelings came rushing into him that he almost felt his heart explode.

She was gazing at him with emerald eyes, eyes that bore through his soul and called for him; eyes that made his body go numb and his insides turn. Her hair was falling softly around her perfect, bare shoulders, around the edges of her graceful neck. He felt himself losing control and closed his eyes again in a desperate attempt to escape her beauty - and attempt that failed as soon as his voice drifted to his ears.

"...Link?"

When he opened his eyes, she was sitting up, having pulled herself from his arms. Her look was one of worry, and Link realized that she must have had no idea what pains he was going through to resist. Quietly he looked away and folded his hands together.

"Your right. It is against the Code. An outside male must never embrace a Gerudo. I should not dishonor you."

Aloarn watched him as he closed his eyes and lowered his head. His blonde hair fell about his handsome face in waves, his gorgeous blue eyes hidden. She longed, for this moment, to stare into them for reasons she did not know; he was picking idly at his gloves now and the rain in Aloarn's ear was causing her such difficulty in her emotions that she couldn't bear it. Honor or dishonor, the Code did not apply to her in that moment.

Link felt it only a few seconds before it happened. The height of the mattress shifted and he knew Aloarn had moved, but he dare not open his eyes. The next moment, he felt the light pace of her breath against his lips,and he lost control.


	13. The Dying Flame

He kissed her again...very softly, very slowly. She shivered and little and draped her arms around him, terrified yet all too willing. Link bit his lip. He couldn't seem to control his own body anymore; she was so close, close enough to touch, close enough to...

He remembered her dancing in front of the fire, remembered her quiet reassurance, remembered the way she calmed him when all seemed lost. His heart was pouring over and just the thought of her settled so deeply inside him that he couldn't bring himself to look at her for too long, fearing she would vanish, leaving him alone, lost...and without her...everything was meaningless...

Aloarn strove between extremes of hating her dishonor and falling apart over him; she could see him laughing, hear his heart beat in his chest, feel him stare at her as she moved surrounded by flame, eyes that numbed her into soft joy that she dare not hold onto for long. Yet he had done nothing to hurt her...he had listened, he had comforted her...she could barely hold herself together, barely breathe...and when he kissed her...

This time she leaned in, overflowing with emotion, praying that he wasn't a dream she had made up. Link met the kiss with perfect willingness, too weak to resist and without willpower against her. She broke the kiss suddenly, falling again into dishonor, betrayal of the Code...

Link caught his breathe as she turned away from him - but even in his extreme he knew exactly what she was thinking. Taking her slowly into his arms, he pressed his cheek to hers.

"It's ok...I know. Don't think that..."

Aloarn swallowed and buried into him, confused and afraid for the second time in her life. Only this time, the man beside her had no intention of harming her. The thought made something flutter briefly in her chest and she slipped her arm over his shoulder.

"I can't...you..." her words escaped her momentarily and Link waited in silence, though he knew her words would pain him. She clung a little tighter to him and regained her voice.

"You are the Hero of Time...and I am...I am just a Gerudo Advisor. We...the Code..."

"Aloarn," Link whispered, gazing intently into her eyes, his last chance. "I love you, Aloarn. You know that." The smile on Aloarn's lips was too sudden and joyous to deny.

"I love you, Link," she whispered back. The very act of saying it released something inside of her and she felt at peace in his embrace. Link pressed his forehead to hers and made his decision.

"When this is over," he spoke softly as the rain began to die away. When he didn't go on, Aloarn looked up into his sapphire gaze. The emerald reflected in his eyes gave him an inner strength he had never had before.

"When this is over...we'll be together. Is that what you want?"

Aloarn did not need to speak. Link wiped away the tears in her eyes as she gave him a quiet nod.

* * *

"Fire is power, Darunia. Fire is what I _thrive _in..."

Darunia took a step back, planting his feet firmly onto the molten hot soil of the dormant volcano. The Gorons had fled to the caverns of the mountain where they waited the return of their lord and leader, though Darunia feared their patience would end in vain. Yet he could not dwell on doubt at this moment; Ganon had finally taken a physical form, his strength increased by the fury of the volcano. The black outline of his body still remained shadow, but his eyes were the same - glaring, deadly eyes that tore through flesh, cracked bone, pierced and burned the living soul. Eyes that searched through smoke and ash to find the outline of his victim.

"You will be defeated as you were before, Ganonondorf," yelled Darunia, taking cover behind a large earthen boulder. "Hyrule will not suffer you again. The Princess has returned."

The laughter that echoed through the cavern was unbearable. The minute Darunia heard it he knew something was wrong - in his heart, he called to Impa for help. Ganon was approaching his hiding place, staggering a little, still unsure of his stability in a physical state.

"Princess, is she? No, no, Darunia...Queen of Ter'zai she calls herself. She betrayed the Triforce, fool, miserable vain wretch that she is!"

The boulder exploded as he struck it and Darunia rolled towards him, thrusting both fists into the Gerudo King's stomach. Fire swirled around his palms and the shadow burned from the inside out. As he withdrew his hands, Ganon let out a faint gasp of pain and fell to his knees.

"Your fire thrives on hatred," said Darunia slowly as fire spread slowly up his arms, his gaze igniting into rage as the volcano shook around him. The glittering red medallion around his neck was blazing a fierce orange. "My fire is in purity, in deliverance. Repent, and pray mercy to Din."

But the victory of Darunia was short-lived. The fire inside of Ganon suddenly reared up and engulfed him, and it seemed to give power to the Dark King. Darunia tensed and backed away, his medallion glowing brighter in expectation. The eyes of Ganon turned on him and pierced into his soul. His pupils faded into red flame and smoke poured from the sockets.

He screeched a devil's cry and leapt as Darunia tore the medallion off his neck and roared his own funeral prayer.

* * *

Impa fell suddenly to one knee. The group halted and Nabooru's legs suddenly gave out, so that she fell down beside her and her knees tore open. They were merely feet from the Goron City Gate, the cliffs of Death Mountain rising in silent majesty above them, the red-dusted rocks glowing in the daylight. Link and Aloarn were both off their horses in a moment and leaning over the two forms of their friends; Zelda was struggling to get off her mare without damaging her dress.

"Nabooru, what is it? What's wrong?" said Aloarn in terror. Link helped Impa to stand up, but the Sheikah's eyes were watering and distant.

"Din has built both rock and bone, this body will grow stiff," she whispered.

"And lay your servant ever more in the sunset-dusted cliff," responded Nabooru. A second later she leapt up and looked despairingly up the path.

"No...Darunia..."

There was a scream and the right side of the mountain burst into thunderous confusion. Boulders fell from on high and the earth shook; the cliffs broke and scattered into avalanches that rolled down into the vacant crevasse between the mountains. Against the light in the sky, something dark slid down into the abyss and was lost.

Link's heart stopped. He didn't think, didn't even try to hold back. His feet shifted and he broke into an all-out run towards the Goron City gate, a gate that had been melted and tossed aside like it was no heavier than a feather; he didn't pause when he reached the inside cavern, didn't even check himself. He ran full off the edge of the first level and free fell to the bottom floor, where the giant Goron statue lay in pieces on the broken, uprooted ground. His legs hit the ground and he rolled forwards into the rubble, heedless of the pain and confusion. It looked like an earthquake had shaken the place; rocks sprang like daggers from the angry, twisted earth, tearing apart pathways, blocking tunnels. But Link refused to see the destruction around him, refused to acknowledge the devastated state of the ancient city. His mind was on Darunia, on the words of Impa and Nabooru, who were following into the city close at his heels. Aloarn was right behind him, seeking in vain to find the same thing that he sought - dark eyes of wisdom, a booming laugh, the father he had never known. Link ran faster than he had ever remembered running before. Something was tearing, deep and malicious, into the deepest foundations of his heart.

He knew before he thundered through Darunia's private chambers and leapt through the secret passage, past the guardian statue that lay in pieces across the floor. He knew before he reached the molten wasteland and felt the heat bite his face in sudden wrath. He knew before approaching the long, flat pedestal that bore the Triforce mark. He knew before he reached the Temple.

And all he wished, even as he came to a halting stop, was that by some trick of the Goddesses, by any mercy of Nayru, that he was wrong..

In the midst of the intense heat, of the living lava, Link's body was numb. Aloarn stumbled through the doorway and stopped short at the sight. Nabooru saw it the second she gained the door and fell to her knees in prayer; Impa continued for a few more steps before freezing on the spot and buckling beneath the heat.

Link lowered himself slowly to his knees. The roaring of the volcano slowed and went mute in his ears. Rocks collapsed in flame around him, but he did not see them. From the far end of the chamber, several Gorons began to emerge from the Temple's tunnels.

And upon the pedestal of the Fire Temple, the Medallion still clenched in his mighty fist, lay the torn disfigured body of Darunia, Lord of the Gorons.

Link felt the grief seeping into him like some sort of slow, malevolent poison. His shoulders shook slightly and he leaned over the Sage, not daring to believe it, not daring to think, not even to breathe. Slowly he turned over the body, biting his lip in anguish. From across the room, one Goron gasped and bolted to the side of his motionless father.

"Dad...dad!" yelled Goron Link, his heart crushing to dust before Link's eyes. He tried to reach out and shake his father but another Goron restrained him; he burst into tears and struggled furiously towards the body of his father, screaming his name, screaming anything...

"Silence, son..."

Link eyes shot open and his grief seemed to vanish; he leaned over the Fire Sage's body and saw the eyes of Darunia opened feebly. The death mist was coming over him.

"Darunia -"

"Father -"

"I said silence!" he spoke a little louder. The room went dead quiet as he started to cough blood.

"We need to get you help -"

"No, Link..." whispered the great Goron lord, his strength fading away from him. Death was taking hold and though Link saw it, it did not register. Darunia turned towards the Hero and spoke very slowly - but this time, no one dared to interrupt him, not even his son.

"Link..." he started hoarsely, blood pouring from his eyes sockets now, eyes that had once been filled with life and happiness...eyes that now fell in and out of focus in an effort to cling to life.

"..Hero, of Hyrule...Zelda, has...betrayed us all...the Triforce does not live in her...the forest...is burning, Link...Saria is running...you must destroy him...death must...take the Dark King...a Gerudo bears it...she was chosen...by Me'lkmar, himself...the coward..."

He rolled his head over by extreme effort and Goron father met the eye of his son. Goron Link was freed and, with tears still in his eyes, leaned down next to his father. Slowly Darunia raised his hand, and placed the Medallion of Fire into his son's palm.

"Young Link..." he whispered faintly, losing his grip on life more quickly, "you will lead us...in war. You will bear my helmet...my sword...and my flame. Hero..."

He took one last look at Link, and began to open his mouth to speak again; blood dribbled from the corner of his lip and his body convulsed.

"...The Lady, Link...you must speak with...the Lady..."

He began to shake and Goron Link leaned down to help him, but he never got the chance.

"Leave me!" yelled Darunia suddenly. His body oozed with blood and he crawled away, his skin peeling off and his bones beginning to show through. Link watched the curse in horror and ran to hold the Goron Link back as his father reached the edge of the Pedestal. From atop the outcrop, both Nabooru and Impa screamed. Aloarn, half stumbling, ran down onto the platform and, despairingly, threw a fistful of blessed sand over his body.

"_H'ra esia li ak'o Darunia_!"

Then his body fell apart and the bones of the great Goron fell, scattered and burned, across the flaming ground.


	14. The Lady

Link leaned back into the wall and remained motionless were he sat. Drums were humming slowly through the cavern, making the walls tremble slightly with echoes. He was hidden in shadow, unmoving and almost invisible behind the rows of Goron mourners that lined the tunnels. His face was blemished with black soot, fresh from the volcano, that he had not yet wiped away; his gleaming hair fell partly over his face, a mask behind which he dwelled in grief. Only one eyes was uncovered; it gleamed, wide and watchful as ever, the rims red and watering at the sight of the Goron Lord's funeral pyre.

The flames were dancing, flames of honor that bore the ashes of his bones into legend; flames that lifted his soul to Din in burning sorrow. The light was eerie in its own fury; the fire seemed to feel the dead that it burned was unjust in its murder, the great bones stripped of life before Din had called the soul.

Aloarn knew he did not see her, knew the raging tides that thundered in him and tore between extremities of rage and heartbreak. Her touch at his shoulder was soft, but nonetheless he leapt from his chair with unnatural speed at the suddenness of it. Yet the eyes of Aloarn were his comfort, her embrace forgiveness. For a long while she held him as the drum beats sounded through the caverns and the bones of Darunia crumbled into ash.

Impa watched them, her visage all seriousness and no sorrow. Darunia was dead; yet his last words echoed through the Sheikah's mind, just as the terrible brooding shadow of Ganon hung over Hyrule.

_The Lady._

Link caught her eye and pulled away from Aloarn. He kissed her despairingly, for now a new feeling was seeping into him. She felt it and took his hand, leading him to where Impa stood before the Goron Gate. Link looked up at her with eyes that held both fear and ferocity.

"You know the path," whispered Impa. Aloarn held tighter to Link's hand as his eyes fell.

"The Eyes of Death can see the Life of Tomorrow," he whispered. He turned to Aloarn. "You cannot follow me, Aloarn."

"Me'lkmar's ashes lie in the earth," she said softly. "I also must come."

Link had no force in him to argue with her; all his being was focused to the task that lay ahead of him. He nodded to Impa and led Aloarn from the gate. The Sheikah looked on, the shadows of the dead grinning in her mind. The voice that spoke to the Sage was the voice of a deeper shadow than Ganon.

_I will wait for them._

* * *

Aloarn slid down the ladder and placed her bare feet upon the cold, wet stone of the Kakariko well. Link gazed ahead, the tunnel just as dark and dank as he remembered. The shadows crept from the opening, striving forever to overtake the light that burned it, striving to ensnare them in the black abyss of hell that Link knew all to well. 

He turned to Aloarn, who looked down the passage with a creeping fear that had once taken hold of the Hero. Yet toils in the cursed tunnels of this demonic place had taught him to never show fear. To fear death would only bring more horror into the life of the living.

"Aloarn," he whispered. She stepped towards him and he put his arm around her, drawing her close. From his belt he brought forth a crystal, flaming green on the inside with Frarore's might. He threw it into the air and it crashed, leaving a brilliant green light suspended above them. Link turned back to her, and placed one hand against her face.

"Impa and I are the only ones to ever see the depths of this place. In this Temple, all the secrets of death walk in the open. This...this is hell, Aloarn. All that is here must never be spoken in the light of day. You must promise me, that if something happens...if I fall, you will not come for me. I am all that can protect you in this place. Swords and spears do not drive off the dead. If I am taken, do not hesitate, do not even move. I want you to scream Frarore's Wind as loud as you can. Do not wait for me."

"But Link -"

"Do not," said Link, a little fiercer this time. His voice echoed down the hall, challenging the Advisor's pride and, as Link knew, awakening those that slept. Aloarn would have responded, but at that moment Link turned from her.

It started low and rushed upon them with a screech of absolute torture; Link threw his shield in front of them and bent down just in time. The breathing, white gust of wind slammed against the metal with a cry of devils and passed them about the edges, too quick and terrible to follow. Aloarn, unable to tear her eyes away, caught a vision of empty sockets, a decayed visage, a look of hunger that was not for food; she dare not scream, but closed her eyes and grabbed Link.

But the ghost was gone. The way was clear, and Link helped Aloarn to stand. He drew his bow and placed an arrow at the string - an arrow that glowed with light and hummed a tune of life in the quiet, deadly darkness.

"Remember what I have said, Aloarn," whispered Link. His gaze bore into her and she saw fear, but did not fully understand it. Link knew she could not yet comprehend it and turned towards the tunnel. As they began to walk forth, Aloarn heard his voice drift towards her.

"You must be careful...the dead..."

He paused and Aloarn caught the gleam of his eye. The terror.

"The dead do not kill you."

* * *

"How many escaped?" snapped Vulhal. The two women beside her stepped forth and bowed low to the ground, trembling beneath the Gerudo's fury. One refused to speak so the other looked up. 

"We have killed most... about a third escaped."

Vulhal leapt and slashed down the woman with her spear. The other Gerudo stumbled away, fearing the woman's wrath may turn upon her next. The first woman screeched and felt a long Gerudo blade press against her neck.

"How many do we have?"

"Th...three..." gagged the woman. Vulhal grinned in wild delight. She pulled her sword back, and for a moment, the woman relaxed. Then the blade came down with a swift stroke and her head rolled over in the grass.

Vulhal smiled and walked over to where it lay, dead and disgusting, on the burned earth. She picked it up by the matted hair and gazed at it fondly.

"Bring them to me," she glared with a sinister smile. The second woman stumbled and ran to fetch them. The forest was still burning, sill rising with smoke, its beauty fallen to destruction. As the three Kokiri were thrown at Vulhal's feet, she grinned in a sort of satanic happiness - the way the devil would smile when brothers killed one another in war, or when an entire race of innocent was extinguished.

The first two were twins, sobbing uncontrollably at the Gerudo's feet in hushed voices. They were burned along most of their bodies and the pain was unimaginable. They tried briefly to comfort one another, but a Gerudo woman kicked them apart and forced one of them to the feet of Vulhal. The girl struggled and looked up, only to come face-to-face with a pair of bloody, dead eyes.

Vulhal dangled the head of the Gerudo before the girl like a sick, twisted toy. The girl sobbed louder and snapped her eyes shut from the horror; Vulhal smiled wider and grabbed the child's chin with a fierce grip.

"Dear child, you seem frightened," she whispered. Her hand tightened and the girl's jaw cracked loudly. The girl's eyes streamed as the pain grew, and she cried without hesitation before the eyes of this maddened, perverted demon. Vulhal did nothing but laugh; she thrived on the joy of torture and hung the decapitated head before the child, nose to nose.

"The dead can't hurt you child, why not embrace it? She cannot hurt you, child -"

"Miserable devil! Unhand her! The Deku Tree curses you, the forest curses you -"

There was a ring and Saria screamed. Her body hit the ground with a loud thud and blood streamed from her side; Vulhal approached her, half in fury and half in humor. She kicked the green-haired Kokiri over and glared at her with one sinister eye.

"I no longer fear curses, wretch. Devil, yes. I have been called that before. You will know a true devil when Ganon comes for you, Sage. Until then..."

She picked up her spear slowly and, with a heavy thrust, drove the head through the spike at the end. Saria turned away, horrified, as the twins screamed.

A loud horn echoed suddenly through the woods; Vulhal heard it and recognized it instantly. She dropped low and ran swift to the burned trees as scattered spears fell among the others - spears that were not the design of the Gerudo.

Princess Ruto emerged from the trees, closely followed by a Zora Captain. She held in her hands something small and frail, gently wrapped in satin cloth. The Captain looked around at the disfigured Gerudo women and shook his head as the Zora began to attack.

"He is not here, Princess. But now we know why the forest burned on the horizon."

Ruto looked down at the small bundle in her hands, distracted by the task that was not yet fulfilled, by the light that no longer shown around the edges of satin.

"Hyrule is dying, as the light of Navi has died. We must find Link before..." the Captain heard her pause and looked on the Princess with disbelief.

"Princess...is the Hero injured? Diseased? We may find medicine -"

"No, my friend," she whispered. In her mind Impa whispered and her countenance fell. "Link now is healthy as ever...but tonight he talks with death."

* * *

The tunnel was so low Aloarn and Link were forced to fall down onto their hands and knees. Spider webs hung from the walls and tangled in the Gerudo's hair as she crept along behind Link, whose face was slashed with grime and muck. Both of them were covered in filth and decay; the walls were tight, and the few bones that broke through clung to them like claws.

As they emerged Link took the moment to gaze around the room. It was shaped into a perfect circle, almost twice as large as Hyrule castle itself and just as high. The walls were dank but without blemish or cobweb, and the floor remained completely smooth. The sight was odd in Link's mind and something he did not remember; the walls should be seeping with screams, the ground bursting with half-decayed bodies and fiends of torture. Yet the scene was quiet...motionless. Aloarn stood up behind him and gazed around, catching sight of a small, white pedestal from across the room.

"Link -"

The Hero clapped a hand across her mouth and her sentence stopped short. She muffled angrily into his hand but he hissed her quiet. The Light Arrow in his bow began to gleam.

There was a deafening screech and for one brief second, Link's fear overcame him. The arrow flew through the darkness like an ill-aimed beacon of hope and thudded, loudly, into the ground.

Link cursed himself and tensed. For a long moment he stood in expectation, one hand around Aloarn and one at his side, fingering the blue crystal at his belt. From the floor, there was a long, loud crack.

The arrow fell through the floor and the rocks broke apart, falling down into a bottomless abyss that formed beneath them with sudden speed; stones fell away and clattered into never ending darkness and the pit grew into an immeasurable, gaping hole. Link could see the narrow bridge forming towards the pedestal, a slim line of rock suspended above the pit of shadows - shadows that began to crawl up the sides of the room and clench bony hands around the edges of rocks. Debris clattered down the sides of walls that crept with dead and Link turned to Aloarn.

"Put one hand on my shoulder and follow me across the bridge. Close your eyes."

"Link I can -"

"This isn't about what you can handle, Aloarn," hissed Link fiercely. From somewhere in the depths of the pit, a chorus of screams began to rise. "You must trust me. Close your eyes and do not open them. Not for anything. Remember Frarore's wind."

Aloarn nodded slowly, surprised by how fierce Link had become; yet the fear encased him again as he felt her hand touch his shoulder and he began the long journey across the deadly bridge.

One of them hissed and crawled onto the stone behind them, its backbone torn through with spikes and chains, like an imprisoned gargoyle. It was followed by a corpse that had only half of its head and a still pulsing brain, the fluid leaking out from the side of its head where maggots were busily worming their way inside. Others followed, covered in leeches and grave worms, or with scraps of metal jutting from their distorted bodies. Some resembled men, but they were monstrosities of men, unrecognizable and twisted with tortures of the pit. Shoulder blades moved halfway down their back with rusting nails, leftover from broken coffins, breaking through thin layers of pale naked skin. They bled even in death, their hearts still pumping outside of their bodies and leaving scarlet trails along the ground. Some were only half-formed and mutilated, while others grew claws from their hands and scrabbled against the bare stone in hopes to reach the living that walked before them. Creatures, grinning wildly with three rows of naked fangs, convulsed as they rolled onto the bridge, clamping bodies into their mouth and devouring them before moving on. Slowly the bridge began to creep with dead as Link walked forth, his eyes on the pedestal, Aloarn's eyes shut tight to the groans and cries the horrors made. Link dare not look back; the sounds enough were reminders and he had no desire to see into the empty eyes of the living dead.

Halfway to the pedestal, he felt Aloarn jerk.

She screeched at the sudden grip of a hand on her ankle and whirled, slashing down the creature's arm with her blade and leaping away. But she had opened her eyes.

The dead caught sight of her fear and leapt, screaming, towards her. Link threw her before him and launched and arrow into their midst as the sped towards them. They fell back momentarily, but more crawled upon the bridge and a mass of decaying bodies fell upon Link. He hurled a blue crystal into the air and a sparkling blue barrier formed between the dead and themselves. As Aloarn stood and ran forth to aid him, he drew the mAster Sword and slashed down the oncoming creatures in defiance. He caught Aloarn's eyes just as she neared him.

"Remember what I have said!" he yelled despairingly. The blue shield began to die away and the creature's were breaking through. "Leave! Now!"

Aloarn did not even respond. The eyes of the dead were on her, seeking to devour her, to place upon her the same hell they endured for eternity. The blue light faded from Link and he braced himself for the onslaught of the merciless dead.

There was a crack through the air and Aloarn howled. She leapt past Link, straight into the surge of corpses and screamed something in a faint tongue. Link flinched and fell forth onto his side as the Triforce tore through his skin.

Aloarn's sides sprang with light; her eyes lost focus and she stood, suspended in the heavy air, before the army of cowering creatures. They hissed at the silver-blue light that piured forth from her, burning their bodies and tearing up their souls. Link opened his eyes despite all the pain and stared at Aloarn, her aura sparkling in the darkness, piercing the shadows like knives, the Triforce of Wisdom burning into the very eyes of death.

Another screech sounded and Aloarn collapsed, her light gone. The dead began to approach once more but a different shadow confronted them. It screamed and the corpses fled in terror, leaving the two living abandoned on the bridge with the Greater Shadow. The ones who did not escape fell to the teeth of it and were devoured.

Link took Aloarn in his arms and they leaned against the pedestal for support, putting forth all their effort into standing. The Greater Shadow slithered along the ground, still searching for corpses that lingered by the bridge. When the search came back unsatisfactory, it slithered with unnatural speed to the edge of the pedestal and reared up before Link's eyes. It spoke low and long, hissing and coughing blood throughout its words, it empty eyes emotionless and unchanging.

_Hero of Time. You live still. _

"As I will for a long while, Lady," whispered Link into the bleeding complexion of the shadow. The Lady hissed and slithered around them onto the pedestal, where she crouched like a spider and glared at them both.

_You want my secrets._

"I have come tell you," spoke Link louder. "Ganon has returned from the Dark Realms."

_We know this, _snapped the Lady. She crawled forth towards Link and reared up, face-to-face. _Death follows the Dark Realms like hounds. Death creeps through the doorway and maddens the prisoners. Death whispers in the ear of Ganon._

"Ganon cannot be killed."

_Death eludes no one, Hero._

"Then how do we kill him, if he has cheated death so easily before?"

_You speak in ignorance, _she hissed venomously. She crouched low onto long, bony arms and crept to the side of the pit. _Ganon owes death a great price. His punishment is severe. The girl, Hero. She seeks the ashes of Me'lkmar. Yet she is no child of Din._

Aloarn's defense rose in her chest but when the face of the Lady came close to hers her throat went dry. The Lady coughed blood and a pool of red formed before Aloarn's feet.

_You are filled with the strength of Nayru. Me'lkmar whispered the secret in the dawn of the world, when death did not dwell on every doorstep. Darunia has sent you to me. _

"Yes," whispered Link. "What do you have to tell us?"

The Lady crept towards the pedestal and perched upon it like a crow. Her mouth dripped with blood and venom as she spoke, and a hunger was coming back into her eyes,

_The girl now bears the Triforce. War shall be waged on the plains of the Gerudo Valley. In each direction death will rule; if the races of Hyrule conquer, Ganon shall fall into my pit. If they fail, I shall have the souls of men, of Zora, of Goron to devour. Already I have tasted the blood of Darunia and of Kokiri. Only one thing is clear in the glass of the future._

Link could hardly stand the Lady's gaze upon him, but she did not blink or move.

_The Hero of Time will die. _


	15. Climax

Hyrule Field, which usually lay dormant in the darkness of night, was now ablaze with a hundred torches of Goron soldiers. The Amies of Hyrule were on the move, followed by warriors of both Kakariko and Hyrule Castle, though such soldiers were hardly trained for this line of fighting. Tents had been pitched in the grass and the Gorons were busy about their weapons and armor. Hammers were thrown against the sides of anvils to test their durability, while swords glowed white hot as smiths pounded them to perfection. Blades were sharpened against stray rock, while shields were re-plated with slabs of Mountain Steel that were impenetrable by any weapon and harvested personally by the Gorons. Helms were strengthened, thickened, and christened with the symbol of the Fire Medallion. Breastplates were strapped on and Bomb flowers placed in large sacs to be carried to the field. With the caravan came three catapults, courtesy of Kakariko; in these were placed both bombs and boulders, pulled along by a dozen Goron to the campsite.

Impa waited on the outskirts of camp, listening silently to the sounds of activity. Link was beside her, quieter even than she. The future had been told to him, an inescapable future he was yet afraid to confront; but fear or none, he would do his duty to Hyrule.

From afar the first messengers of the Zora came forth. Most did not ride anything, but traveled on foot. Princess Ruto, however, came forth saddled on an a large amphibious creature that wheezed from lack of water and caused the group more problems than solutions.

But when Ruto dismounted, Link did not see the normal spark of flirtation and childish love that usually lit up when she saw him. Whether or not she truly believed he was her fiancee was unknown to the Hero - but something in the way she approached them caused a sinking feeling in his stomach.

Something was terribly, terribly wrong...

Ruto swallowed and knelt before Link. Trembling, she held out a small bundle, wrapped in satin cloth. Link took it in his hands, bemused. What was this? A gift? A warning? Then he caught Ruto's eye and the answer screamed at him. Slowly, he looked down and unfolded the satin.

Navi lay, motionless and pale, the light gone from her torn body. Her eyes were closed as if sleep had taken her; but she did not awaken, did not stir. The warmth her pink radiance had once let off had fallen into an icy coldness. And at last she lay, content in death, as Link stuttered a prayer through his tears.

* * *

Link gazed into the lamplight, unfocused, lost in the despair and confusion. He was motionless, standing in the midst of his tent without any intention of resting. He was concentrating on his breathing...the soft inhale, exhale that he had so many times taken advantage of...the perfect way his rib cage widened to let in air, the way his diaphragm always lifted to exhale. Slowly he raised his hand to push the blond bangs from his eyes; he paused, astonished at the beautiful working of his own bodyThe way the impulses of the brain, quicker than thought, reached the ends of sinews and invisible fibers that caused the joints to move and the muscles to tighten, loosen, tighten again. He wondered how, even through so many years of near death experiences, that he would realize the beauty of the human form at this point. Perhaps, he thought, it was because this time he knew death was inevitable, unescapable...even to those he thought would stay forever.

When he heard Aloarn walk into the room his own body slowed; he felt the beating of his heart go shallow in his chest and the indescribable peace enter his mind. She glided toward him, almost as fluid as the wind itself, and he felt something stir within his chest.

Her hair caressed her shoulders as she walked, the wind pushing her blond bangs behind her ears...hair he longed, more than ever, to run his fingers through...eyelashes that fluttered, deep, glorious green that called to him irresistibly, beckoned him to stare into for eternity...hips that swayed subtly as she drew close, hips he could wrap his fingers around, a beautiful waist he could draw close, draw near to him before...

When she touched him, a shiver went up his spine and he forced himself to close his eyes. She slid her hands up his chest and wrapped his arms around him, breathing slowly against his cheek. She did not speak, but he felt her pain match his and a need for love and reassurance overcame him

His breathing became faster and uneven; the feeling of her body against his was almost too much to bear. He swallowed his pain and clung to her, but still she did not speak. He felt her lips caress his forehead, his eyelids, his cheek...felt a desperate need to cry out for warmth, for comfort...lips met and he fell into her, unresisting and weakened. She kissed him deeper and his grip on her hips tightened ever so slightly. Each kiss grew more passionate, more intense, and Link's mind clouded, confused and overwhelmed by the absolute power she had over him.

He traveled to her neck, yearning to get every inch of her, terrified that she too would leave him. She sighed his name and the sound was unbearable; he broke away from her to regain his breathe, trying to focus on something.

"Aloarn...everyone...they...Navi, and Darunia..and...don't...don't leave me..." He stuttered desperately, broken to pieces in her arms. Aloarn did not let him collapse, but sustained him, held him up when the world shattered beneath him.

"I'm right here, Link..." she whispered. The full surge overtook him; a tear fell and he pressed against her, lowering her to the mattress as the night grew late.

* * *

Vulhal was practically foaming at the mouth with greed, her steed red-eyed from terror and scarred from a spiked whip. Ramil stood beside her, her teeth bared in the same fashion, her appearance beginning to match that of an Outcast. The two grinned at each other, expectant and hungry for their rewards. The sun was rising, heavy and hot, as it always did over the Valley on these mornings. Clouds were forming about the horizon, thundering in the distance with faint forebodings of rain; but now red light streaked red sand and the Desert lit up beneath the sun. The hissing figures of the Banished covered the earth like spawn of the devil; and that devil stood, now in his full human form, plated in armor, with a sinister grin before his army.

Ganon turned to Ramil and Vulhal and gave them a yellow smile. The two women dismounted and fell down before their King in complete loyalty; the sight made him laugh, the poison of power running through his veins like his cursed blood was pumped through, indestructible, all but immortal. He turned and Ramil and Vulhal took their places at the front of the first onslaught.

The army of Hyrule stood before them, grim-faced and determined. Goron's stomped the ground impatiently and banged their chests with heavy fists. Zora crouched and prepared themselves to spring, their bodies arched with cat-like flexibility, the spears glittering in their silver scaled hands. The few Kokiri that joined the army stood close by with bladed boomerangs clutched in their hands. Other forest children arched the strings of bows and prepared slingshots; several Kakariko drew Sheikah war paint across their faces and soldiers were inches from cutting the strings on catapults. Saria knelt low to the ground at the right wing of the army with Nabooru, who slid her blade along theearth and roared at the line of traitors before her. Impa and Ruto stood quiet as Impa twirled a mace idly and Ruto leaned against her carven spear. Aloarn crouched low with her blades beside Goron Link, who stood before the army of Gorons and banged his breastplate three times in proper introduction. The Goron's cheered and the other races joined until and all out roar sounded through the valley.

Link stood in the front, sitting upright like the fairy-tale Hero he was born to be. Epona was unsaddled and unbridled; free from any chains she tossed her head in fury and strove to gallop against the mighty tides of evil before her. Yet this time, the sight of Ganon stirred no fear in the Hero's eyes. Link no longer feared anything; not death, not pain, not Ganon himself. His eyes bore into the Dark King's with nothing but utter hatred.

The two armies were poised like pieces on a chessboard; the Hero of Time vs. The Gerudo King.


	16. Death to life

There was a soft click as Epona placed her hoof on the earth, shook her mane.

A quiet snap as the Gerudo messenger unbound the great battle horn.

Aloarn set her eyes on the King, running her fingers through the sun-warmed piles of desert sand.

_Esai k'or metu l'ia._

_The earth will deliver me._

The horns blew.

The catapults snapped.

Ganon roared.

The desert flew beneath their feet, torn up with a sudden onslaught of bodies and blood; hell broke through the earth and lighted into the eyes of possessed Gerudo. Women leapt from cliffs and scattered poison across the field and Gorons fell, wheezing for air but drinking sand. Zora slipped between spears and cut into the helms of Gerudo who screamed and slid to the earth; bombs exploded in the midst of the field and both Hyalins and Gerudo were thrown aside. Nabooru slipped her blade through horses necks and the great beasts fell, crushing their own riders; Impa's mace found the neck of a Tya'toi and she pulled her off her horse with it, saddled and continued her siege. Goron Link rallied a group of larger Goron soldiers and they rolled themselves into plated boulders, sliding down the slope and crushing all who came in their path.

From the edges of the River the second onslaught crawled forth. Zora climbed up the cliff sides and fell on the rear of the Gerudo withouit warning. Women screamed and fell to their spears as others sent electric currents straight through the army and paralyzed soldiers. Sheikah moved like snakes and sped beneath horses, slaying them with an assassin's precision and moving on until they were knocked down by the sudden flash of a curved blade.

Link spurred Epona and she leapt clear of several Gerudo before halting in the sand, face-to face with Ganon, whose great mace curled around the Master Sword as it struggled to contact his face. The Gerudo King laughed and pulled Link from Epona's back with a mighty heave of his great shoulders; Link let go of his sword, pulled his bow and launched an arrow as he fell, rolling over in the earth and snatching up the hallowed blade. The arrow grazed off Ganon's iron-clad shoulder and he too sprang from his steed onto the bloody earth, where women screamed and soldiers fell in the dust.

"Take revenge, Hero!" he yelled as he drew his sword and blades clashed. The deadly dance began and Link rolled to his feet and launched himself towards Ganon.

"I can see it, boy!" yelled Ganon again as he swung and missed Link's side by inches. "That rage...it will blind you!"

The Master Sword was glowing with fury and the holy light of it blinded the evil in Ganon's eyes. He stumbled back, barely able to hold off the onslaught of the furious Hero. The blade grazed the green outline of his face and he struggled to open his eyes to the blinding light. The names of the dead were on the tip of his tongue, the faces of those long dead glaring in his gaze. There was a momentary glimmer of a mustached man, bent double, hacking up blood.

"Ingo!" screamed Link, and a bleeding gash was torn down Ganon's side. He roared and tried again, but the Hero's fury was overwhelming. The death mist fell into the dark eyes of the Goron Lord and he lay limp.

"Darunia!" The blade tore through the King's leg and he stumbled back into the sand. Around them, the battle slowed and hushed. The final face was unbearable; the vision of a tortured body, barely as big as his hand, with no light, no comforting words, her friendship torn from him, despair...

"NAVI!"

He was raging, lost to reason, striving to hack him into pieces, make him bleed and burn and choke -

He felt a searing pain across his forehead and knew Ganon had hit a mark; then another stab came to his side and he yelled, toppling over in the dust. The battle around them froze as the Hero fell, bleeding, to the earth.

"You forgot one, boy."

The blood was dripping down over his eyelids as he looked up...the same way it had when he had looked into her eyes for the first time, seen the glittering gold ring at her ear. The crescent moon was still hanging against his chest, blood-soaked, gleaming...

"Choose."

His horrible bleeding hand was gripped on her throat, her eyelashes fluttering as he drained the life from her, slowly, painfully...Link couldn't bear to watch. Is reason had left him long ago; emotions surged over him and he gave in to the words of the Lady, realized what she had meant, realized the inevitable...it was him, or the woman he loved.

There was a loud ring as the Master Sword hit the ground, and the entire battle stopped.

There was another ring and the black blade of the Gerudo King found home in the chest of the Hero of Time.

Aloarn screamed. There was a long, silent moment, as Ganon still held the blade in his chest, his greedy gaze laughing in victory. Aloarn was crying, sobbing, her world falling apart as she gazed into the wide, astonished blue eyes of the Hyrule's defeated Hero.

The pain wasn't there anymore, wasn't real. Feeling became a memory as his heart gaze out, as his brain began to slow. Everything happened so timed, so perfectly, as he slumped forward to the earth. And even without seeing he felt the rage in Aloarn's heart as she drew the blade, leapt, and hacked off the cursed King's head.

* * *

It was raining. A very gentle rain...a very soothing rain. A rain that washed away the blood around Ganon's corpse and haunted the footsteps of the Gerudo traitors, who fled from the sight, their blood boiling with curses, their bones falling to the earth in disfigured piles.

Aloarn held him very gently as the rain slid down his cold face. She struggled to keep him warm, though the light inside of him had already gone out. Her voice was quiet and broken. He mouthed words to him that meant nothing. Words he could not hear, an embrace he could no longer feel.

Aloarn lifted her head slowly and the rain fell into her eyes. She cradled him to her chest, unwilling to let him slip through her fingers. She was covered in his blood, full of his matted hair and torn clothes, but she did not care. She gazed into the clouds, angry yet full of unmatchable grief. Silently, she whispered ne name.

"Nayru..."

The Triforce of Wisdom glowed faintly on her hand. Nabooru approached her, swallowing at the sight, but stopped short.

_

* * *

_

_He is dead, Frarore._

We owe him much.

_He has fallen and his soul will come to you, as well as the Triforce._

It is not what he has that I seek. He should not have died.

**Both of you silent. The life of this Hero did not unfold as was planned.**

_Din, your child has fallen also._

**He was evil, Nayru. The evil deserve to fall. The Hero is another matter.**

Then you agree with me, Din?

**It is to be seen. Your child, Nayru. The one who called us. She too is pained.**

_It is not wise to meddle in the affairs of death._

Is it also unwise to send your child into the realms of Din's children?

_That was not my choice. If I could, I would bring the Hero back. But it is dangerous._

There is much danger in the world. We have faced it before.

**It depends on the prayer of the girl. She would trade her life for his.**

_That is not acceptable. The only reason to bring back the Hero would be for the child._

Whose child shall it be? For it is between children of mine and Nayru's - yours then, Din?

**Yes, it shall be my child.**

_Then we must bring the Hero back._

**Such is seen. Aloarn, open your eyes. The Hero stirs.**

* * *

When Aloarn looked upon the face of her Hero it was in tears. Link lived, by the grace of the Goddesses alone; though for what purpose he would serve would be unknown for long ages. When news of the miracle had been spread throughout Hyrule the Kingdom cheered in celebration and a day of Honor was held. Nabooru took charge of the fortress and the last faithful Gerudo were summoned to her. Goron Link became Lord of the Mountain and ruled the rock-eaters with kindness. A shrine was put up for Darunia in Kakariko Village, where Impa trained young men and women in the ways of the Sheikah. Princess Ruto lost hold of her crush on Link and married a Zora Captain; Saria returned to the forest and it regrew beneath her care. The Sages returned to their homes, at peace now that Ganon had fallen to the pits.

And Link and Aloarn lived in their own way, apart from the cheers of the Hylains. They choose a small home on the edge of hyrule where none yet had been; a wooded place with a river, where they stayed for long years, until their name began to fade on the tongues of Hyrule. And in the quiet serenity of that hallowed place, Aloarn gave birth. To a child the belonged to Din, red-haired, and by all manner, a Gerudo.

A beautiful, bouncing, baby boy.

**The End**

Thanks to Reviews from:

Mrs. Frisby, Kon Hoshi, Samurai Demon-God Sekikage, AmethystRoze,

Daniel Song, linklover2005, Heaven's Reaper, Christeroad, Obsidian Ideals,

SilverHikari, Drifter7, and AngelicBoundaries.


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